'How can you go and feast? There's been a huge battle and nobody actually cares!' Yelled Ariana, her ears tingling with anger. 'Huge?' Replied Van, 'That was a fun fight compared to the real battles, it only lasted for a couple of hours!' Everyone took their places at the table; there was lots of food, neatly arranged by a couple of cooks. They took their places at the table, it all looked so beautiful, but Ariana didn't feel so hungry, but then again she hadn't eaten for a while. 'What's this?' She asked, pointing to a bowl of slimy stuff. 'Escargot' nodded Allen 'I suppose...' She took one and popped it into her mouth and slowly chewed. 'Hmm, what is this stuff made from?' 'Boiled snails. They used to be my sisters favourite.' Allen had a sister? Allen glanced at her and sighed as she swallowed them, looking as if she was going to puke up. She hadn't noticed him before, but King Aston was seated at the end of the table. He was a large man with a feather in his hat. He kind of reminded Ariana of Henry the eighth. He slowly stood up, holding a glass of wine in one hand and silently coughed. 'Welcome everyone to my royal dinner, we are here in celebration of our recent victory over Zaibach, but it is common knowledge that they will be back and all of our soldiers and knights will try their best to protect our country. Ariana bobbed along with the smooth notioning of his voice, she tried to remember back to her school coursework about war and remembered that poem she read aloud in class 'Why patriots are a bit nuts in the head' What did it go like again?....'red for blood, white for glory and blue...for a boy'. Red, white and blue, the colours of the English flag. Her mind was set on going back home, she couldn't really remember the rest of the words but she thought the poem described Allen perfectly. Ariana casted her mind back even further to the other song she had read in class by that famous guy, Sting. 'All for a children's crusade' this wasn't exactly World War, she thought, but they were practically kids on the battlefield. She recalled some of the lyrics 'Nineteen fourteen' The date the war started and 'Virgins with rifles'. The teenagers in guymelefs, were like virgins with rifles, she thought, visualising Miguel's empty face.
'Ariana! I said aren't you going to eat anything? You're just staring into space' pressured Van. 'NO! I DON'T WANT TO EAT! WHY?? WHY WAR???' Her ears rung as she yelled. Ariana pushed her seat back and swept everything off the table in front of her with her hand. It all crashed to the floor and the plates all shattered. 'I don't want to be a part of this!' she ran off, leaving everyone gaping with surprise.
Millerna broke the temporary silence. 'I understand, it must be that time of the month' 'Millerna!' gasped Allen in horror.
Ariana hadn't a clue where she was in the castle. There were huge, charred timbers above 'Well I hope it falls on my head and kills me!' She recognized the place. It was near the hangar where she had run the first time. Why am I always running? I always thought I was totally desensitised to violence after watch so many gore movies. She recoiled in disgust. This isn't a movie though, she thought miserably. Tears streaked her face as her feet lead her to the hangar. It was no longer dark, as a hole had been blasted in the wall and most of the guymelefs were in bits or partially damaged. She didn't know where else to go so she sat down. I don't like anyone here, I don't know where I am and I don't know how I got here. The tears left her eyes and slowly rolled off her face. Ariana buried her head in her knees.
'Oooo can't go and leave me, ooo my best fwend!' 'Bye bye!' 'Nooo, don't leave me all alowne!!!!' A blinding light surrounded the young girl and the boy stared pitifully up at the light.
'THERE YOU ARE!!!' She lifted her head up softly, she must have dozed off, her eyes were stinging and face was bright red. It was only Allen, 'Man, I should get a better hiding place' Ariana muttered. 'You! Why did you embarrass me like that in front of King Aston, you shouldn't be in this part of the castle, it is sustainable to collapse because of damage, yet again you are still risking your life!' Allen shook her gently. 'I don't give a damn what happens to me!!' She thought about how much time had passed during her sleep. Maybe around half an hour, judging by the colour of the sky. 'I told His Majesty what a wonderful person you were, which is obviously a lie and you went and done THAT!' 'Get away from me Allen! I HATE YOU!' She screamed. 'WELL, WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO AND JOIN ANOTHER GROUP WHO CATER FOR YOUR EVERY NEED THEN. IT'S NOT EVERYONE THAT'LL MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOU! ZAIBACH ARE LOOKING FOR NEW RECRUITS, WHY DON'T YOU GO AND JOIN THEM?....I find it incredibly unlikely they will come to accept a person such as you though.' He pointed out, calming down slightly. 'FINE THEN I WILL!!! I'LL JUST GO AND....AND LEAVE THIS STUPID HELL-HOLE!' She ran off, out of the side of the wall where it had been blasted away. 'NO ARIANA!! DON'T GO!!' Allen shouted, remorsefully.
Her head throbbed and she was blind with hunger. Ariana sighed, 'Where will I go? I don't have any choice but to go down to the town in Pala-whatever it was called. To the bazaar to ask around.' She rubbed her head and stressed her hair back with her fingers, Well at least I'm nearby it, even if I don't have a clue whereabouts I'm going.
Eventually, she reached her destination; there was a whole load of people there and some extremely odd-looking people. (Dolphin men!!) She gasped in amazement at all of the peasants and merchants, selling their stuff. 'Its just like a fairy story gone wrong! HEY EXCUSE ME!!! MR! Can you tell me where this place is and where I can go for shelter? The stocky man turned around and answered 'Good afternoon lady miss, you are in the Palas market, which is located in central Asturia, I'm not particularly sure where there is a shelter. Are you homeless?' 'Oh its okay then, thank you Mr' She cocked her head; facing the late afternoon sky, she was almost certain that she saw a disturbance up there. Oh well. 'Hello sir do you know where there is a she-' 'Evacuate this area missy, it's the Zaibach soldiers, in their floating fortress!!' She peered up again, she defiantly saw something then it became a distinguishable shape in the sky, a huge lump of floating rock. 'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???' She asked herself, louder than she had meant to. She glanced the other way. 'It-it IT'S VAN!! She strained her eyes towards the harbour, on a bridge where Van was standing with another man. Ariana felt regret in her heart and want to say sorry to Van, it wasn't his fault she had adjustment problems. She trotted over to the bridge and broke into a fast-paced sprint. 'VAN!!!!! IT'S ME!!! She felt high spirited and quite happy, she didn't know whether Van and the others would accept her or not.
'Lord Dilandau! Folken told you not to leave the anchorage!!' Panted Chesta, trying to keep up with the huge, red guymelef.
'Who said anything about leaving the Vione?' He replied, sounding like a kid on Christmas day.
'Lord Dilandau's setting his energists to maximum to shoot out a crima claw?' asked Chesta, to himself. 'Who is that girl, interfering down there Lord Dilandau?' proclaimed the blonde.
'WHAT??? That must be the girl Dornkirk was talking about. Heheheh, you can tell Strategos we have a new recruit on our hands!' Inside the guymelef, he was building up pressure to shoot out a sharp, mercury claw, which would hit Van. Hopefully.
He pressed a button. 'GO MY LITTLE CLAW, RIP VAN TO PIECES!!!'
'HEY! VAN!! OVER HERE!!' Both men looked towards her, Van took a couple of steps forward. 'Ariana?'
'WHATTTTT????' Dilandau's shriek echoed inside the Vione.
'VAN!! Look up in the sky!!!!' The huge, metallic claw came thundering down with a crash and retracted. It missed Van's back by a metre. 'Brother!' said Van in a cold, unwelcoming voice. 'Dilandau, how dare you interfere' said the blue-haired man in a deep voice. 'So that was your plan brother' Huah? That tall guy was Van's brother?? 'That was not of my intentions, Van.' He walked away, to a carriage. Hmm? Ariana was sure she saw a small man hitching a ride under the horse-driven coach. Van turned to Ariana and gave her a dirty look. 'Oh, I see it's you again. WHERE DID YOU GO??? DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!' Some men with weird frilly clothes marched up. 'Sir Van Fanel, King of all Fanelia? King Aston wishes to see you.' The cat-girl, Merle ran up and hugged Van, sneakily pulling a face at Ariana 'Oh he does, does he? Talk about rude!' She despised them all. 'Ariana, come on!' Van ordered. What right did Van have telling her what to do anyway? 'VAN YOU HAVE NO RIGHT IN TELLING-' 'WATCH OUT ARIANA!!!' He warned. She felt something hit her and she let it mould itself around her. 'VAN!! HELP ME!!!' She felt herself floating, there was only one other time she had experienced anything like this and that was in her own backyard. Below she could see the city mapped out. She was getting higher and higher and felt suddenly faint, the air was thin here and she felt very light headed.
'Where am I?' Ariana rubbed her eyes, this was probably the millionth time she had fainted or slept in two days. 'Gatti, go and tell Lord Dilandau and Strategos that the subject is awake.' Ariana thought the voice was familiar. She gazed up. There stood a girl, in a blue PVC uniform.'Who-who are you?' 'My name is Viole and I have been issued as an order by Lord Dilandau to show you around.' 'Hey, I saw you in the woods the other day!' 'Huah? You're that girl! The one who asked for directions!' 'So? You weren't friends with that Miguel boy were you by any chance?' Ariana asked, with curiosity. 'Well, I was and I wasn't, He bugged me a lot, but now he has gone I kinda miss him' Ariana stared around the room. It was small and dark, with a bunsen flame lighting the place up with its orangy glow. 'Mmm..I'm sorry. I saw him get killed and I saw him dead, I also was there when you were arguing with him in the woods.' The conversation was getting deep. 'Yes, I organised a special ceremony with the Dragonslayers, in Miguel's honour. Of course Lord Dilandau didn't come, he's too up himself to do anything like that!' Wow these people were a lot nicer than Van's groupies. 'Dilandau works for Zaibach, doesn't he?' 'Yeah, this is Zaibach, Dilandau told me about you, he said that Dornkirk told him that you were from that Mystic Moon, so you won't know much.' Hmmp. I know plenty, she thought. 'Who is Dornkirk?' 'Oh, he's the founder of Zaibach, I'm not sure of his intentions, but he fights for an ideal future, he's just a big idiot though.' Ariana got the impression that Viole was a girl that slagged people off behind their backs. 'I take it you don't like Dilandau or Dornirk' 'It's called forced respect, Dilandau doesn't take s**t from anyone, he just hits them.' Van and the others always told Ariana to be more ladylike whenever she swore or said a rude word. 'Hey why aren't you people as sexist as the Asturians? Whenever I swore, people told me to be ladylike!' 'Yeah,' Viole started 'Lord Dilandau believes women are just as inclined to fight and swear as men' 'He sounds interesting! Will I ever meet him?' 'Oh yes...but tell me what is it like on the Mystic Moon?' After a lot of talking, they got onto the subject of guymelefs....
'Television? Wow, it sounds so good, watching images on a screen; it's just hard to believe that you don't have guymelefs where you come from' 'we have cars though, I'm not old enough to drive a one yet, I have to be seventeen.' 'An easy mode of transport? I want a one! Dilandau would disapprove; we can pilot guymelefs from the age of thirteen, and I was ordered to show you the basics of piloting a one, you will have one of the new ones, Alseides model 2, unit 20 There was twenty to start with including Dilandau's red Alseides, but Miguel's was destroyed, so you will be number twenty again, not twenty one. I hope Dilandau isn't monitoring us, I really don't want to be hit again for wasting time.' 'Why does he monitor your bedrooms?' Then she thought 'Ohhh' Ariana giggled. 'Yeah, he doesn't want sexual activity, incompetents or any 'ickle Dragonslayers now does he? We are a mixed army after all. Hehehe, so are you ready to learn how to pilot one of these babys!'
Things were finally looking up for Ariana, she had made a friend and she wasn't as uptight as anyone she had met so far Ariana had also actually giggled for the first time in a long time, she thought being in Zaibach would be harder on her, like Allen had made out it out to be and she was going to learn and pilot a guymelef....an Alseides guymelef!!!
00:47 18/11/01
