Wow, next chapter, sorry about the wait once again, I've actaully had this typed for a few days, but I didn't get around to reviewing it till just now. Good news, I'm off work until Tuesday, bad news, I'm going on vacation to Michagain (sp?) for about a week and I don't think I'll be getting much writing done during that time period, good news, by the time I get back I'll be the proud owner of the Escaflowne Movie and a very niffy Dilandau keychain. His hair is blue, but I'll fix that...just a little Mirror Magic nailpolish...^_~ I think I might be able to get one more chapter up before I leave though, I'll try my hardest. Gomen nasi Minna-san! To Read is good to Review is Divine! Enjoy!!
~Sarah~
Chapter 9- How Did This Happen?
"Don't let the world bring you down.
Not everyone here is that fucked up and cold.
Remember why you came and while you're alive
experience the warmth before you grow old."~Incubus
Serryn was dreaming. She wasn't sure how she knew. It seemed so real. She could feel the warm sand surrounding and almost covering her feet, could hear the sounds of the ocean behind her. It was strange though. She had never seen the ocean.
She sighed, sitting down in the sand and bringing her knees up to rest her head on them. It was incredible how real this dream seemed. Hearing the sound of movement Serryn lifted her eyes. Her mother stood in front of her. A ghostly vision, her face pale, her eyes deep and unreadable.
Serryn wondered why she didn't leap up that instant. Or scream at the vision of the ghost. She sat unmoving. "Hello mother."
The ghost of the Queen of Conilia lowered to her knees before her eldest daughter. She lifted her hand taking Serryn's own in it. Bringing the hand up before her eyes the queen studied Serryn's wrist. After a moment her eyes slid shut, and she brought the hand too her mouth, laying a gentle kiss upon it. She then dropped the hand, and lifted both of her own to Serryn's cheeks.
Serryn noticed tears spilling from her mothers eyes then. "Mother...what's wrong?" she whispered. The queen remained silent, but her mouth turned up in a sad smile. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to the princess's forehead. "Mother?" Serryn asked again in confusion, raising her voice.
'Be brave....'
Serryn's heart jumped. The words were unspoken, echoing throughout her mind. Her mother stood, stepping away then, and Serryn felt a rush of all the emotions she had somehow forgotten moments before overcome her at that moment.
"Wait..." she breathed, getting to her feet, but her mother was backing away faster now, into the sea, fading the farther she went. Serryn cried, "WAIT MOTHER!!"
She started after the disappearing image of the dead queen, but gasped as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. "NO!" she exclaimed, reaching out her arm desperately, trying to pull away.
"Mother STOP!" The ghost was bearly a ripple in the air. She cast one last look at Serryn, and then one at whomever held the panicking girl back. A single transparent tear fell from the women's face before she faded away completely.
Serryn stared past her outstretched hand, gazing at the space her mother had just occupied. But no matter how hard she looked, there was still nothing. Her hand dropped, the muscles in her face relaxed, leaving a dazed expression on her face. "Come back..." she whispered, staring out into the empty ocean.
A soft chuckle behind her ear made the hairs on Serryn's neck stand up, and caused the muscles in her shoulder to tense involuntarily.
'Let her go,' another voice in her head said softly, and she became aware absently of lips pressing against the hollow of her neck and shoulder. She tried to turn, to see the face of the person that held her, but the arms were strong, keeping her still.
"Who are you?" Serryn asked, lifting a hand. She reached back, feeling a neck, a jawbone, a pair of lips. Another laugh escaped those lips.
'You're mine Princess.'
Her eyes shot open. The dream ended, and the vision of the ocean disolved. Serryn blinked becoming aware of a pair of large blue eyes, staring down at her face intently. She gasped, sitting up quickly, glaring at the other person who occupied her room. "Who..." she trailed off as recognition suddenly hit her.
"It's YOU!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. The blue eyed, blonde haired girl had leapt to her feet in surprise at Serryn's sudden movement. "But...you're Dilandau...aren't you??"
Celena calmed down and smiled. "No, I'm not Dilandau," she replied, "not anymore..."
"What do you mean??" Serryn demanded, looking completely lost, "Who are you? WHAT are you?"
Celena sighed, "It's a long story..."
****
Dilandau winced slightly as he tried pulled the white undershirt over his head. His arm was still considerably sore from the procedure, and he swore he had never been stuck with so many needle in his entire life life.
"Damn Stratagos," He growled giving up and instead ripped the shirt open with his good arm, 'He was supposed to fucking get rid of her, not make her a completely separate person.' He threw what remained of the shirt away from him, sitting down on the large bed.
He grabbed a bottle of alcohol sitting on a table next to him, taking a drink. He let out a breath as the strong, slightly burning liquid flowed down his throat, causing his muscles to relax almost instantly. Dilandau grinned slightly, remembering how the Stratagos had insisted he was too young to be drinking. "Kiss my ass," he muttered taking another swig.
At least most of the procedure had caused him to pass out, so he didn't have to see exactly what was happening. The silver haired general's eyebrows furrowed suddenly at the remembrance of the dream he'd had during his state of unconciousness.
She had been there, standing idly, gazing at nothing in particular, an unreadable expresion on her face.
He'd approached her, not quite realizing he was dreaming.
"Why are you here??" he demanded angrily. She turned to him then, regarding him slightly in fear, but more in curiosity. She'd gazed into his eyes, as if searching for something.
Dilandau stared back at her, confusion evident on his features. What was she looking at? Her hand lifted then. She brought it up hesitantly, her eyes flickering to his right cheek. He knew she was looking at the scar there. She moved her hand up closer to it. Her fingers were millimeters from touching the marred skin when Dilandau's arm snapped up catching her small wrist in his hand.
"Don't." He warned, watching her green eyes widen momentarily in surprise. He pulled her closer to him then, not know why exactly. He took a breath, inhaling her scent. It was pleasant.
He looked down at her. Her head was bent, her eyes closed. She seemed to be contemplating something. He frowned and grasped her chin in his figures lifting it to face him. She stared at him, her eyes questioning. Dilandau became aware of his heart beat then. It was rapid.
"What are you doing to me?" he asked in a low voice, his grip on her wrist unconciously tightening. He wanted an explanation. Why did he suddenly feel so strange when he looked into her eyes?
She frowned at him, trying to step back, but he didn't let her. "What?" he repeated, and then he became aware of his own lips pressing against hers. She looked probably as surprised as he felt, her eyes going wide again for a moment. She calmed down then slightly, aversely returning the kiss.
It was different from the first time he had kissed her. Then he had just been having fun, distracting her while he moved to render her unconscious. But this time it was...different.
He had awoken from the dream then, his garnet eyes opening, meeting with another pair of eyes. Wide blue ones gazing at him in a state of wonder.
Dilandau cursed, his mind shifting back to the present. "This is fucking ridiculous," he snarled, slamming his bottle back down on the table, leaving it almost half empty. Now there were TWO idiotic girls making his life more of a hell then he normally liked it to be.
Celena just annoyed him. 'Why did Folken have to bring her back? It would have been so much easier to have just destroyed her pathetic soul and be done with it.' he argued with no one in particular. But the Stratagos insisted she was useful though, so it appeared Dilandau was stuck with her.
But the princess...
The red eyed boy growled. No one was supposed to make him feel like that. Make him have dreams like that. He was a warrior. He fought, he killed, and he enjoyed it. These foreign feelings that had prevented him from killing that girl so many times were an annoyance. They were a weakness he wouldn't tolerate.
Dilandau frowned though. How many times had he seen his Dragonslayers on their free time, cavorting around taverns with local girls at their sides, giggling and admiring their armor and weapons, and then felt that he was missing out on something? Or when he saw the two demi-felines falling over themselves to please Folken, why had he felt jealous that no woman went out of her way to please him without him demanding so?
It wasn't like he hadn't had women before. But most of them came to him almost purely out of fear. They assumed being with a known and feared Zaibach warrior would protect them from Zaibachs wrath. Dilandau had always taken pleasure in watching the horror cross over their faces when they realized too late thet HE was the one they needed protection from.
But he still felt like he was missing out on something. Something everyone else around him seemed to understand, except him.
His mind fought to find an answer, again akcnowledging how much it hated to NOT understand, but it was slowly growing fuzzy from his intake of alcohol making it hard to think.
"It's her fault," he mumbled at last, laying back against the cool sheets, his mind shutting down as sleep took him.
****
Serryn stared at the blue eyed girl is disbelief as she finished her story. "Gods..." she breathed, "that's so horrible. I'm so sorry Celena!"
Celena leaned back against the bedpost, smiling sadly. "It's all right. It's all over now. Thanks to Dilandau I'm free."
Serryn's eyes widened in shock, "Thanks to Dilandau??" she exclaimed, "Celena! That bastard kept you trapped inside of him for twelve years! How can you even forgive him, much less thank him??"
Celena stared at the enraged girl in confusion, "I...I don't know," she admitted, "I guess, I've been with him for so long, he's all most like a brother to me." She looked up at Serryn her face forlorn, "He's the only family I've ever really known. I can't even remember my mother's face. And my brother..." She trailed of, looking close to tears.
Serryn's expression softened, "I'm sorry Celena, " she apologized, "it's just....well he's the reason I lost everything. He's so cruel to me."
"I suppose after knowing someone your whole life, you tend to overlook the wrong they do," Celena sighed, "He saved your life though."
Serryn snorted, "Yeh, and I'm sure he did that out of the goodness of his heart. Like he wouldn't benefit for taking the crown Princess of Conilia prisoner!"
"He thinks about you a lot."
Serryn eyes snapped up, blinking, "What??" she exclaimed.
Celena's hand was clamped over her mouth, her eyes wide. She obviously hadn't meant to say that last statement. "Oh gods!" she moaned, shaking her head, "He'll kill me if he finds out I told you that!"
Still trying to recover from her shock, Serryn placed a hand on the other girls shoulder, trying to calm her, "It's ok, I won't say anything!" she assured Celena, who nodded gratefully.
"So...are you going to be ok?" Celena asked, obviously wanting to change the subject. Serryn stared at her for a moment before her heart sunk, realizing what Celena meant. She was now a servant of the Zaibach.
"I....I don't know," she stammered burying her face in her arms, "things are so messed up. I'm a disgrace to everyone who ever meant anything to me. I'm just glad my mother is dead so she couldn't see what I've done. And my sister..."
"Hey, it's all right," Celena said comforting her, "we're in the same boat. We gotta stick together, right?"
Serryn sighed, nodding, brushing away a few tears.
"Oh gods," Celena exclaimed, jumping up suddenly, "I have to go before they start looking for me. I wasn't exactly given permission to leave Lord Folken's laboratory when I did." She grinned sheepishly. "I'll see you again some time, hopefully." She headed for the door.
Serryn smiled, watching the other girl leave. "Oh..." she said, turning back to face her, "Stay strong Serryn." With that Celena Schezar left the room, the door closing behind her.
