All's fair in love and war: New alliances

Ariana saw the pain in his eyes and heard a cold voice else yelling 'You're doing the wrong thing!' He was dying and there wasn't a single thing she could do.
Ariana jerked upright. She found herself in a huge, soft bed, there were several faces staring down onto her. 'Where am I?' she asked in bewilderment.
'You were lost and were sleeping in the farmer's land' replied a cool voice 'You are in the King Aston's royal palace, I brought you here for safety' Ariana placed her right arm over her face. The man who was speaking had long, blonde hair worthy of a L'Oreal supermodel.
'Who are you then?' she asked him. 'My name is Allen Schezar, knight of Caeli, and it is my honour to protect and serve you'
WHAT? She couldn't believe the arrogance of this guy. She could protect herself fine! 'I'm not total helpless y'know, I can look out for myself' 'I was only trying to help you, it is the duty of a knight in my position.'
'Well get me a drink then!'
The man sauntered off out of the room. Ariana knew she shouldn't have been so cocky to him after all, he could do anything to her. A strand of soot-black hair fell into her eyes, she tossed her head back and caught the imposing stare of all of the other people. 'Well, well, well, you're new here!' exclaimed a little girl in a taunting way, Ariana observed her in a way so she wasn't staring hard enough to be cheeky. This dark-skinned little girl wasn't even a little girl, she had odd ears and a tail protruding from the bottom of her spine. 'Have you got a problem? I don't like your attitude, so don't get too cocky with me' the creature leant over, her hair fell into Ariana's field of vision. 'You're a weird one, what's with the clothes?' This girl was making no effort to hide her curiosity. 'Well at least I don't have a tail hanging from my bum!' accused Ariana. That tail stood on end, fluffed up sticking out of the short, yellow sundress she happened to be wearing. 'YOU!'
The obnoxious girl's attention was diverted when the door opened. 'LORD VAN!!!!!!' She screamed, running over to a lanky, sullen-looking boy who had just entered the room. The man with long hair also accompanied him. 'Here's your drink, I never caught your name-' he started. 'It's Ariana' she sniffed. 'Ariana, what a nice name' he complimented, handing her a metal goblet. 'What is this stuff?' she asked, vaguely eying the creature-girl. 'The best Asturian wine for a lady such as yourself' said Allen 'and here's your goat's milk, Merle' handing the mean girl a glass.
'Merle?' 'Yes that's my name!' yelled the girl
'I see you've already made an acquaintance' commented the lanky boy. 'They've been getting on like cat and dog!' yelled a man from the back of the room. 'Yeah one's a cat and the other looks like a dog!' A lot of other men laughed. 'Kio!' snapped Allen. 'Aww boss, we was only havin' a joke on!' he replied. 'We have to welcome our visitor and treat her with all due respect' announced Allen, to everyone. Ariana felt embarrassment and anger bubble up inside her heart; this guy was really starting to annoy her. 'LOOK, I CAN STAND UP FOR MYSELF!' She never meant to of yelled, 'Look, men you all go and set up the guymelefs because we might get attacked any minute.' ordered Allen, surprisingly calm. Ariana had no idea what he was talking about. 'Look, can you just tell me where Asturia is and what I'm doing here??' She felt pretty confused and slightly angry. 'Where are you from?' he asked in a smooth voice. 'Last time I checked, Earth!' she joked. 'The Mystic Moon?' interrupted the lanky boy 'Are you from The Mystic Moon?'
'What's the Mystic Moon?' She thought it sounded like a word a fortuneteller would use.
'Hmm you don't even know what that is, well you certainly are primitive'
'Just show me the Mystic Moon!' 'Fine. Follow me over here.' Ariana swiftly jumped out of bed and followed him to a narrow slit of a window. She had read about these at school, they were to shoot arrows from, but they were so narrow, no impending arrows could enter. What kind of civilisation was she dealing with?
'Look. There, big deal.' He said hastily.
'It-it-it's the Earth and the Moon!' she stared in amazement at the two spherical objects hanging in the sky, it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Someone must be playing a large-scale practical joke on her, either that or she died while she was in her back garden. 'Yes we are in Gaea' He said. 'What's your name then?' she asked the boy
'Van Fanel, and yours is Ariana, I know.' He said to her in a superior tone of voice.
'How did I get here?' She knew deep in her heart that he didn't even know the answer to that one.
'MASTER! ZAIBACH IS LAUNCHING AN ATTACK!' Yelled the Kio guy, running back into the room, panting. 'Prepare the guymelefs for battle!' Announced Allen 'You stay here, Ariana this is dangerous. Kio! You prepare the heavy artillery!' Allen rushed off, his odd comrades following. No way she was sleeping. A battle? She secretly hoped Allen would come back and say 'What the hell! of course you can fight with us!' But he did annoy her, a lot and so did Van and Merle, in fact she wasn't really good at making friends at all. Allen. He tries too hard thought Ariana, walking from the window and out of the door.
It was cold outside of the bedroom and soldiers were running amok. 'Sorry Allen, but I'm not sleeping through a battle!' She started to run, gathering speed through the corridors. Ariana was really bewildered; she hadn't the slightest idea where she was going. She reached a huge opening in the passageway and decided to follow it down. At least I'm getting somewhere; she thought glumly, there weren't lights anywhere; instead the room was lit be a set of candles on the wall. She grabbed one 'HEY! ARIANA!' Oh no it was Allen. I better pick up the pace she thought. 'Come back here, it's not safe in there!' Sweating heavily, the girl reached a dark room. She hid behind a huge stone pillar. 'Ariana! You're putting your own life at risk!!!' 'Not so calm now, eh Allen?' She uttered. Allen pressed a button on the wall and an enormous door opened up. Daylight! Yes! She collapsed against the pillar, she looked around now that it was lighter and saw it was some kind of hangar, there was a top balcony and Allen and herself were on the bottom floor and there was also those mechanical monsters she had seen the previous day, they differed a little in colour, shape and size, some were equipped with huge rapiers, some had cloaks and some even had guns. Ariana spun around to discover that she was leaning against a huge black coloured one. 'Schezarazade, prototype design 1' 'Ariana! There you are!' Damn. Allen found her. 'I see you've discovered my guymelef! Never run off like that! You really scared me Ariana!' Ariana found herself speechless, in awe of the machinery 'Allen, what are these?' She was curious, and so taken in by the equipment. 'These are my crew's guymelefs, machines of war. The one you're tapping you're shoe on is mine.' 'Oh, erm sorry, hee-eey Allen' She started coaxingly, 'Can I ride in one of these?'
'Certainly not! You are a lady and I don't want you to get hurt' Sexist twat.
'Well can I at least go outside! YOU CAN'T KEEP MY LOCKED UP IN HERE FOREVER!'
'Please, Ariana, understand our situation here, there is fighting going on an-' 'Please- pleeeeese pleasseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-eeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-' 'Fine then! But your not my responsibility!' SCORE! A rush of adrenaline ran to her heart. She was going to see these things fight! She didn't like admitting it, but violent sports kind of excited her. A lot.
'Please, follow me' Allen scarpered up the metal stairs, onto the balcony and started up the guymelef. 'Aggg I-T M-A-K-E-S A L-O-T O-F N-O-I-S-E!' She yelled as Allen switched it on, he climbed in and put his arms into little holes at the side. The shield closed and the machine started moving. 'Wow! This is sooo incredible!' At the same time, Ariana felt butterflies partying in her stomach.
He led her outside, where it was literally a battlefield. 'Ariana, don't wander any further please, I have to go and fight!' Good. A least he was gone she didn't care, Allen trampled off crushing everything in his way. Suddenly one of the blue giants she had encountered yesterday, tackled Allen. He drew his sword and swung at the attacker. It blocked. 'I get it, they must of been guymelefs I saw' They were defiantly the same ones. Allen tried again to hit it, but the blue guymelef's sword melted and reformed it self into a claw. It swung at Allen 'YOU FOOLISH PEOPLE!' She heard Allen yell. Then came an unmistakable familiar voice, boyish and naive. 'ALLEN! GET OUT OF MY WAY!' Allen aimed again and this time hit the boy's guymelef, from which a white substance spurted out.....then it collapsed to the ground. 'He's dead!' Shouted Allen victoriously, tackling another.
Ariana ran over to the downed guymelef and peeked through the headpiece. She was right, the voice was familiar because it was that of Miguel in the woods. 'Then these must belong to...' She stared at the lifeless body and thrusted her way through the headpiece, smashing it to bits. Ariana felt sorry for the boy, who the day before sounded so happy, as if he really enjoyed his short life. There was no use but she carried the body from the guymelef. Blood covered Miguel's face. 'Poor guy....he looks so defenceless' She decided she hated Allen even more. 'ALLEN! STOP FIGHTING!' There were hundreds of guymelefs on the battlefield, it was a cold and harsh day and there were people in mortal combat, putting the swords to good use. She enjoyed violence, but this made her sick. The smell of blood was nauseating and she was just standing there, like an idiot.
'Ariana, it's a battle, not a child's game!' Allen replied, anger teeming in his voice.
A white guymelef with huge green crystalline jewels in it shoulders approached. She didn't know who was on whose side or what the battle was over, but it seemed so unreal. 'I HAVE YOU NOW!!!!!' Yelled a extremely happy voice, fast approaching the white guymelef. Maybe some people did enjoy war after all. 'VAN, THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU'LL EVER CROSS ME!!!' Van must be in the white guymelef, 'VAN!! ATTACKER AT TWELVE O'CLOCK!!' Yelled, Ariana. The exuberant voice came from a red guymelef, with huge metallic shoulders. It drew double-swords and attacked Van from behind. Luckily he turned around and blocked. 'VAN I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!! HAHAHA!!! HAAAA HHAAAA!!!!' Screamed the sadistic voice. Ariana realised she had been concentrating on Van's fight so much, she had blocked everything else out around her. There were bodies and lifeless guymelefs scattered all over the ground. One blue guymelef spurted flames from its right 'Arm'. The fire engulfed the palace. Ariana ran, desperate to get far away from the castle. Other blue guymelefs joined in with huge flamethrowers. Ariana ran, her heart pounding in her chest 'VAN!!! HELP ME! ALLEN!!' Of course, no body heard her. The air was choking and she found it hard to breath. Ariana coughed and spluttered. No it was impossible to breath. 'If I *cough* went to sleep *cough* would I wake up in my own bed?' She asked herself, trivially
'Friend of Allen! over here!' A woman called from a trench. What did she have to lose? She coughed and choked her way to the trench. 'Please, feel free to take refuge in this trench, you are a friend of Allen after all, here put this over your mouth, it will help you breath.'
'T-t-thank you, do you know Allen?'
'Oh sorry! I didn't introduce myself, how rude. My name is Princess Millerna Aston of Asturia.'
'Princess?' The blonde woman looked no older than herself.
'By the way girl, you haven't seen Fanelia battling yet in Escaflowne? Have you?'
The palace was burning rapidly. 'Who or what are Fanelia and Escaflowne?'
'Van Fanel, King of Fanelia and his magnificent guymelef, Escaflowne'
'Van? King? This was crazy. 'Yes, I saw him fighting a psycho in a red guymelef.'
'Oh no! He's fighting Dilandau again? He might get killed, Dilandau is a good warrior, so Allen told me.' Dilandau. That name, Ariana was pretty sure she had heard it before.'
'Why are you not defending you palace and country, hiding in this trench won't help' said Araina, coldly
'It is a knights job to protect the country and it's citizens, plus it's too late. the castle's pretty much burnt down now, it's good they evacuated most of the people, I hope Father's okay.' Yeah, thought Ariana, quick burning castles and bimbo princesses. Great. 'Who is this Dilandau guy anyway?'
'Call him 'Lord Dilandau' to his face, he's really mean tempered, and he's the head of the Zaibach guymelef army, he believes in destroying everything and anything. Like I said he's a talented fighter, to think he's only fifteen....He is very evil and immoral' 'Whatever.' Ariana peeked out of the trench, the guymelefs were thinning out and starting to retreat. Fire surrounded the place and it stunk of rot. 'Oh God' Ariana was breath taken 'What if I was out there still?' Skeletal remains of buildings stood, there was a sad aura surrounding the area. 'Millerna-'
'Girl, maybe we should go and see if everyone's okay'
'My name is Ariana!'
'Well you're touchy!' criticized Millerna as they climbed out of the trench. 'Hey, be a dear and give me a hand' Ariana pulled Millerna out of the muddy hole. 'Would you believe that, look at my clothes all muddy' What an airhead, Van and the others could all be dead and she thinks about her clothes being dirty. 'Lets go!' The stepped over bodies of the young and old alike. 'What about your clothes Ariana? Are you making a fashion statement or something? Ladies should wear dresses.' 'I DRESS HOW THE HELL I LIKE!' She couldn't believe how sexist people were in this world, it made her very angry.
'There's Van and Allen! They must of beaten Zaibach!' said Millerna, over excitedly. 'Princess Millerna, you're unharmed, its a plesant surprise to see you're alright.' Allen kissed Millerna's hand.
'Did you win?' asked Ariana, curiously. 'Van always wins so there!' Merle exclaimed, sticking her catty tongue out. 'Actually Zaibach retreated after seeing so many of their men die'
'Van, you didn't need to kill those boys.' Ariana stared into Van's eyes, sternly.
'Huah?'
'The one's in the blue guymelefs, it was awful, I saw them laughing and joking yesterday and seeing half of them dead now, its so cruel.'
'Wars aren't always fair, they pre-empted us first. We made them retreat anyway, after Asturia's soldiers attacked them together, as a fleet. We should celebrate in the back of Asturia's castle, it isn't as bad back there' suggested Van. 'We tried holding them off, but there were too many, the ratio of Zaibach guymelefs to Asturia's is incredible' Allen said, blandly. 'Well, lets go and feast!' Millerna exclaimed, in a bubbly tone of voice.

03:22 11/11/01