Escaflowne of the Sky

Cynic X

"..."- dialogue

'...'- thoughts

..... - scene change

Chapter 8- Recovery

This time Hitomi actually got up at a reasonable time. She tried to make herself as presentable as she could, but it was hard since she didn't have her track bag with her stuff in it.

'I wonder what happened to it.' Hitomi thought as she made her way down to breakfast.

"Van!" Hitomi exclaimed seeing him at the breakfast table. "I didn't expect to see you." He looked up from where he was eating.

"Yeah. I was feeling better, so I decided to join everyone else."

"You don't let anything keep you down do you?" Hitomi smiled a she sat down and helped herself.

"Nope." Van said in between bites. "What do you have planned for today?" He asked.

"I'm not sure...I guess I'll wonder around the city...it seems so big." Hitomi replied.

"Have fun, and be careful." Van called as he exited the room. When Hitomi was done, she went out into the city and explored. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. Pallus, the capital of Astoria, had been built adjacent to the sea. Everything was built in white marble, with canals and bridges connecting streets. Hitomi wondered down by the water and watched the sun play upon the bright blue waved. The peace and quiet was a much needed change from the chaos of the last few days. The sun had risen high in the sky when Hitomi decided to return to the palace.

'Uhh...my feet hurt.' Hitomi thought to herself. 'But I had so much fun.' She entered the castle and saw Allen walking down the hall.

"Hitomi." He called once he saw her.

"Hey Allen, how are you?" Hitomi asked, coming to a stop.

"Fine. Where were you all day? I thought you would have been with Van." Allen smiled.

"No, I wanted to see the city. Do you know where he is?" Hitomi asked.

"He's out near the windmill. That's were we placed Escaflowne to be fixed. He wouldn't listen to us when we told him not to go...and he's been out there all day." Allen answered.

"He's so stubborn sometimes." Hitomi replied with a frown. "I gonna go and yell at him. He has to take better care of himself." Hitomi waved good-bye and exited the castle the same way she had entered. "The windmill, where did I see that?' Hitomi thought as she placed her hand over her eyes and looked around. 'There!' She had spotted it a short distance away and took off for it. She ran the short distance, until she came to the door.

"Van." She called as she knocked. She heard footsteps inside, and the door was pulled open.

"Hitomi." Van said with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. Why aren't you in bed?" She asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I feel fine." Van said as he moved back to where Escaflowne had been placed.

"How's Escaflowne?" Hitomi asked as she trailed behind him. To her the guymelf looked okay, but then again, she didn't know that much about what she was looking at anyway.

"Pretty good. It only has a few small dents and scratches, nothing major. I just have to re-sharpen its sword." Van pointed to where he had been sharpening the sword before she entered.

"Oh...that's good...are you worried about Zaiback attacking again?" Hitomi asked as she played with the hem on her shirt. She really didn't want to go through again what Zaiback had done the first time they attacked.

"Zaiback could attack at any time. We have to be prepared, but I think the chances of them directly attacking Pallus are slim. If Zaiback attacks Pallus, they have to deal with all of Astoria, an act that could bring about the end of their empire." Van said as he moved the file along Escaflowne's sword, sharpening the edge.

"I hadn't thought of that." Hitomi answered.

"Zaiback isn't stupid...if they are going to make a move, it will be an indirect one." Van replied looking up. "Shall we take Escaflowne out for a ride?" He asked, jumping up on Escaflowne and opening the pilot's chamber.

"Where are you going to go?" Hitomi asked as she watched the chamber close and Escaflowne move forwards and replace its sharpened sword.

"No where particular...I just wanted to check everything out and make sure its in working condition." Van said as he moved Escaflowne outside the windmill. It transformed into dragon mode, with Van standing, holding the controls. "Want to come?" He asked holding out his gloved hand to her.

"Sure." Hitomi said as she grabbed his hand and he lifted her up so that she was standing behind him.

"Hold on." Van said as Escaflowne moved away from the ground and higher into the sky. Hitomi clutched Van's red shirt as the wind started to pick up as they went higher into the sky.

"Everything looks so different from up here." Hitomi said as she looked down to the ground below them. Van flew Escaflowne over the city. "Do you think they can see us down there?" Hitomi asked pointing to the miniature houses and people below them.

"Probably...let's fly out over the ocean." Van said as he turned Escaflowne and headed out towards the vast ocean that surrounded Astoria. The setting sun casted an array of colors over the waves, illuminating them with the sunlight they reflected.

"Wow..." Hitomi muttered as she looked at the scene before her. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. "It's so beautiful. Thank you Van for taking me with you." Hitomi said and smiled.

"You're more than welcome. I wanted to thank you for what you did. Not many people would have helped me the way you did." Van said staring out over the ocean.

"That's okay Van...I wanted to help you." Hitomi said softly.

"Well...the sun's setting, and it's getting dark...why don't we go back." Van asked turning around slightly.

"Okay..." Hitomi said as Van turned Escaflowne back towards the city. After Escaflowne landed, Van turned it back into a guymelf and stored it away in the windmill.

"If Zaiback is after Escaflowne so much, it has to remain hidden." Van said as the two exited the windmill and head back towards the castle.

"Why do you think they want it so bad?" Hitomi asked as they entered.

"I really don't know...but I know that I will never give it to them." Van said clenching a fist. Hitomi shook her head in agreement. The two said good night and started off for their own rooms.

"I'm glad that Van is feeling better." Hitomi said to herself as she got changed for bed. "He had me worried there for a while." She smiled, glad that everything was all right now. She got into bed and started at the moon out her bedroom window.

'I just want everything to work out okay. I don't want Van to suffer anymore.' Hitomi thought, as she feel asleep.

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