nanika ga shoumetsu shite mo nanika ga futatabi yadotte
wakare ni kureta hohoemi wa tsuyoku ikiyou to yuu
anata kara no MESE-JI
(Even if something lapses away, something will live once again.
When you gave me a smile as we parted, it was your message for me
To truly live with all my heart)
-Yubiwa, Escaflowne Movie OST
***
Life was good.
So thought the young King of Fanelia as he leaned back against a tall, fragrant mound of hay. The creaking of the wagon provided a soft lullaby as it rolled over the gently twisting roads to his capital. Van Slanzar de Fanel was a king, and certainly entitled to much better transportation, but pomp and ceremony and unnecessary luxury had never been a big need for the young man. The country of Fanelia - called by many the Mountain Kingdom - produced strong, hardy, tough people, built to survive in cold and darkness as well as warmth and light. And they respected their king more for his fairness and ability to take his lumps along with the best of them than they would have for extravagant shows of wealth and power.
'Life is good,' Van thought again as he stared lazily up into the clear blue sky. He had much to be thankful for. Fanelia was a happy, smoothly running kingdom, its inhabitants prosperous and fond of their king. It could easily be called one of the three most powerful nations on Gaea, owing nothing to any other nation and its beautiful capital fully restored to its original splendor. This was especially unbelievable considering how badly razed Fanelia was during the Zaibach invasion. But thanks in part to the people's strong spirit, Van's leadership, and a great amount of good luck, Fanelia had risen from the ashes of its destruction like the legendary phoenix.
But more than that, more than Fanelia's good fortune, which had once been his only concern - it was Hitomi Kanzaki van Fanel who made Van so happy. Van often couldn't believe that he'd been able to gain such a perfect, beautiful woman as his queen, as his wife…as his soulmate. Every time he lay awake in their bed, watching Hitomi's face as she slept, or every time she bent over to whisper in his ear as they kept court, some observation that cut to the heart of the matter and kept him from losing his head; every time she'd look at him with love shining so clear in those beautiful green eyes of hers, running her hands through his dark hair down to stroke his wings, or every time he hugged her close, burying his face in her fawn-colored hair and inhaling the distinct scent of flowers and wind that always surrounded her - he gave thanks to any and all deities that could hear him that they'd emerged from all their suffering and loneliness to find each other.
And now Hitomi was pregnant. Van gave a small smile as he thought about it.
The young King had been away from the palace, roving around the kingdom, for two weeks now - checking border posts and townships and things like that. He wanted no advance word of his approach to reach those he wanted to observe, and thus traveled without entourage or royal guard. He dressed more like a roving wanderer than a king, and consequently saw things he might not have otherwise. Everything had checked out fine aside from a few petty officials abusing their power. Van had immediately removed them from office, replacing them with honest, forthright men and women from the townships themselves. His people, who had never liked having to bow to a leader they knew was wrong, had been very supportive about his choices -Van had been developing into a good judge of character. That had been about the extent of the trouble. And now he was almost home and…
'Van!' Van bolted upright, looking frantically right and left. That had been Hitomi he'd heard! But how…? She was still in the palace - confined there, really. She was due in a few months. 'VAAAAAAN!' he heard again, in his mind. The psychic link between Van and Hitomi had never quite faded away, but this was the first time in years - since the war ended - that Van had needed to be called through it.
Van leapt up into the air, his wings spreading and catching the wind as he flew for all he was worth back to the palace. The wolf-man who'd been driving the wagon gaped as his King flew off. Van couldn't care less as he sped away, intent on answering Hitomi's call.
Millerna snapped at the confused servant, "Get me some hot water!" The servant hurried away, more than a bit scared by his normally sweet, composed Queen screaming the castle down.
"It's okay, it's okay, come on, Hitomi, you're doing fine…" crooned Millerna. She was somewhat concerned, though she didn't allow the emotion to show in her voice. Hitomi's water had broken several hours ago – quite ahead of schedule. Months ahead of schedule. It had been a good thing that Millerna, with all her healing talents, had been visiting Fanelia.
And so far, Hitomi's labor had been pain-filled. Hitomi kept calling for her husband. Millerna was also sincerely wishing Van were there. She knew how annoyingly underfoot soon-to-be fathers could be, (Dryden was, and she was only two months along - it had taken an hour of arguing to get him to allow her this sidetrip to Fanelia while he was on another business trip) but this was different. Hitomi needed Van there. And considering how hard her labor was turning out to be, whatever Hitomi wanted, Hitomi should get.
Millerna spun around, her sky-blue eyes alighting on another nervous servant hovering near the doorway. "You! Get me the bag I left on top of my dresser, the one with the dark gray roots inside!" she instructed, taking advantage of the arrival of another convenient errand-runner.
Van sped towards the palace, flying faster than he ever had before. Bolts of fire raced up and down his shoulders as his muscles burned with fatigue. He whipped the air with his wings so fast that he half-feared they would break right off. And the thing was, he didn't care. Anything, to get to Hitomi.
He pushed himself harder as the palace came within sight. Below him, the people pointed up at the hurrying figure of their king as he zoomed over them, towards the palace. Somehow, he knew which room Hitomi was in and aimed for its window accordingly.
"Hitomi!" cried Van, bursting into the room. The people in the room turned to regard this dramatic entrance-by-window with wide, incredulous eyes. Van didn't notice. All he could see was the frighteningly pale face of his Queen. He could feel his heart stop.
Then Hitomi's green eyes flew open and she smiled at Van, whose heart resumed its normal rhythm with a jarring thump. It was only then that Van noticed blonde Princess Millerna bending over Hitomi. She straightened and turned to Van.
"Hail, King of Fanelia," she said, face and voice solemn, but with a wide smile seeming to lurk just below the surface. "Behold your son." As if on cue to Millerna's words, a loud cry filled the air - the loud cry of a newborn child. Millerna placed the infant, swaddled in white linen, in Hitomi's waiting arms.
Hitomi looked tenderly upon the child, eyes filled with love. "Our son…." She looked up at Van, her entire face alight. "Our son, Van. OUR son…" She began to rock the baby in her arms gently, softly crooning a lullaby. The words were unfamiliar to Van - it seemed like a foreign language. He supposed it was from her homeworld. It was a pretty tune, and it was having the desired effect on the baby boy. His loud yells died away into soft hiccups as he looked up wonderingly at his mother.
Van slowly moved closer, quiet and slightly afraid, as if this was all some strange, fragile soap bubble that would burst if he moved too abruptly. He moved beside Hitomi and, placing a hand on her shoulder, looked down upon the small, squirming newborn who was the ultimate proof of Van and Hitomi's love.
The baby in question was suddenly aware of movement just beyond his mother. For a person who'd been out in the world for all of two minutes, he had surprisingly good control of his senses. He was able to pick out a dark-topped shape just beyond the light brown that was his mother. His eyesight sharpened as it got used to light, and he was able to pick out a pair of silvery, shining things just behind the other shape…
The newborn heir to the Fanelian throne gave his first smile as he raised his little arms to his father. He made a happy gurgling noise, and grabbed a feather from Van's wingtip. Van started. He'd completely forgotten that his wings were still out. Then he smiled, and picked up the baby from his wife's arms.
He held him gingerly, as if unsure what to do, but also gently. Hitomi smiled also, looking from Van's awestruck expression as he regarded his infant son to the baby himself, who was currently examining Van's feather intently. Hitomi wondered if he'd inherited the wings that were Van's Ryujinbito heritage. He certainly seemed fascinated enough by them.
Van raised the baby into the air, unknowingly mirroring his father's actions of twenty-five years earlier. He said, "I name thee Riander Lacour van Fanel, my son, and Crown Prince of Fanelia. May thy life be long and filled with good fortune."
The servants around him set up a loud cheer at this traditional welcoming of a newborn prince. Some raced outside, to spread the word and soon, the pealing of bells echoed all over the city as the people cheered and feasted on the streets. The royal guard raised their swords in salute, smiling broadly as the silvery tones of a dozen trumpets added their voice to the general clamor. Later that night bonfires would blaze from one side of the country to another in honor of their new prince.
Inside, though, the baby that was the cause for all this celebration, the newly named Riander van Fanel, slumbered peacefully in his mother's arms. Van stood proudly nearby, gazing fondly down on his wife and son.
Yes, life was VERY good.
"Waaaaaaaah!" screamed the three-year-old Prince of Fanelia.
Hitomi, in the room next to the nursery, sighed and shook her head. Normally, little Riander had an amiable, happy temperament. He had an absolutely adorable face and the disposition to match it. He was sweet and charming and remarkably intelligent and precocious – and if anyone said otherwise, they'd best do it away from Hitomi.
But sometimes Riander got…restless. He'd wander around whatever room he was in, as if looking for something. If the door were unlocked, he'd slip out and wander around the palace. There had been a few panics because of that.
Riander hardly ever threw temper tantrums. For a toddler, he was especially easy-going. But when he DID, the whole castle knew about it. If given sufficient provocation, little Prince Riander would fly into an absolutely terrible rage, remarkably intense for one so young.
And about the only thing that could calm him down when he got worked up like that was Van taking him for a flight above the city. Riander really loved that, soaring in the thin clear air of the higher altitudes, looking downwards at the people of the kingdom, who had become used to these royal airflights and often waved at their passing king and king-to-be.
The one other thing - discovered when Van and Hitomi had to leave for a two day inspection tour and Riander cried for five hours straight - was when Merle strapped Riander to her back and took him 'roof-hopping'.
Hitomi shook her head. Even at the tender age of three, her son was already an adrenaline junkie. What with the flights, and the roof hopping, Riander was really half-bird, half-human, and half-cat. Wait…that was too many halves…
Smiling quietly at her thoughts, Hitomi walked over to the nursery. Merle, who like everyone in the palace (and most subjects in the city…and the farms…and…well, you get the idea) adored the young prince, had already arrived and was cuddling Riander to her. Riander, sensing an upcoming ride, was smiling his sweet, rather lopsided baby smile and bouncing excitedly in the harness specially made for him.
"Taking him for a ride, Merle?" Hitomi smiled at the younger woman. "Yes, Hitomi. You don't mind?" Merle inquired.
"No, no, go right ahead. Besides, Rian would never forgive me if I denied him this," Hitomi laughed. Merle laughed as well. The two women had laid to rest their initial antagonism, and now the only person closer to Merle than Hitomi was Van himself.
"Okay then. We'll be back in an hour," the cat-woman promised. "I'm also going to take Rian to see the Lake."
Merle hopped onto the windowsill. With a last parting wave to Hitomi, Merle leaped off into the air, landing sure-footedly on the roof of the palace. She then set off running across the length of the palace walls, Riander screaming with delight.
"Bye Merle!" Hitomi called out after them. She turned away from the window, chuckling a bit to herself. Most children took walks - it was just that Rian's consisted of racing across roof-ledges or winging swiftly across the sky.
"Happy birthday, Rian!" chorused the (disturbingly, at least for the servants who had to cook and clean up after all of them) large crowd of people who, despite coming from different corners of the planet, had traveled to Fanelia to celebrate its crown prince's fifth birthday.
"Blow out the candles, darling," cooed Hitomi. Riander grinned a gap-toothed, lopsided grin and proceeded to do so. The adults around him clapped while the children demanded a slice now that Rian was done.
Van smiled. This whole birthday-cake thing was a custom from Hitomi's world, but a rather nice one, he thought. He watched, amused, as the kids (Millerna and Dryden's daughter, the young Duke of Freid, and his own son) proceeded to gobble up the cake. The adults ate their slices more sedately. It was really too good to be rushed; Cook had outdone himself with the sweet confection in honor of Riander. (More specifically, in honor of Riander's sweet tooth)
Though everyone had been in Fanelia for a day already, at least, there was still a lot to talk about. So the adults, gathered in a loose circle around the fireplace, talked and laughed while the kids raced around the large room.
None of the parents had the slightest worry for their children's safety. They knew that twelve-year-old Chid was responsible beyond his years - running a duchy had that effect on one. He would look after Rian and Caria like the older brother neither had.
When the games had gotten to the tease-the-baby part (in this case, Millerna and Dryden's daughter, the Princess of Asturia, Caria) Allen rose and separated the kids. "Time to open the presents," announced Allen. "Yay!" cheered all three children.
He walked back to the fireplace, kids hanging on his legs and his shoulders, Chid trotting at his heels. Millerna and Hitomi smiled as he neared; he'd proven to be really great with the children. They hero-worshipped him.
They gathered around the table where the presents were heaped, Allen lifting Riander up so he could see them. "Wanna see mine first?" suggested Chid, eager to see his 'younger brother's reaction to it.
"No, mine!" insisted Caria. Riander solved that problem by grabbing Allen's present. "Ooh! Wow! Lookit what Uncle Allen got me!" cried Riander happily.
He held up a gleaming, well-crafted sword, sized perfectly for his five-year-old body.
"Allen!" hissed every female in the room. (In Merle's case, she really did hiss; no one was going to give her Riander-chan something that could cause a single hair on his adorable head to be hurt!)
"Wait!" Allen cried out, waving his hands in an attempt to placate several fuming females. He snatched the sword out of Riander's hands, who was showing it proudly to a curious Caria and Chid. He held it out in front of the girls. "See? Its edges are blunt. He wouldn't be able to cut butter with it. Would I give my own godson something dangerous?" he finished, hurt.
"Knowing you great thumping blade-crazy males, maybe," muttered Princess Eries. Everyone chuckled.
"Can I have my sword back?" demanded Rian impatiently.
The presents were soon all unwrapped. It turned out both Dryden and Van had been in on Allen's little gift; Dryden gave Rian a beautiful dark-blue-and-silver scabbard for his sword, plus a matching belt, while Van gave his little son protective gear - also in blue and silver - and a promise of fencing lessons starting next week.
Merle gave Rian a set of carved wooden soldiers, cleverly made and painted, for him to play with. He liked them and immediately selected one - a swordsman painted red - as his favorite, and stuck it in his pocket. Caria solemnly presented Rian with a box of expensive sweets from the finest shops in Asturia. Her mother had been very strict on the blond-haired little girl; she'd only eaten two of the sweets. Chid's present was waiting outside - a small bay pony of the type bred in the mountains of Freid, famous for their gentle nature and smooth, sure-footed gaits. It turned out that Rian would begin riding lessons along with his fencing ones next week. Rian insisted on naming his new pony after the giver, and so Chid had the dubious honor of being the namesake of the horse, now known as Chiddy.
And so it went, till it was the children's bedtime. Their mothers (and aunt, in Chid's case) tucked them into their room and bade them goodnight. When all three were slumbering peacefully, they had gone back to the room for wine and talk.
That was the last time they all gathered together. The very next winter, while on the way to Asturia for Caria's birthday, the Fanelian entourage was caught in an avalanche that cascaded down the sides of the steep mountain they were passing with (as Hitomi later said) the speed of a bullet train.
Merle ended incapacitated for two weeks and Van's guard lost fifteen of its finest members. Twelve more members of the party were injured, including both Hitomi and Van. And Prince Riander was lost, as well. They never found the body.
AN: I don't know as much about Vision of Escaflowne as GW, so if there are aberrations and impossibilities here, please forgive me. (bows) Take it as an AU, if you like. Anyway, hope this prologue doesn't incite homicidal rages, as it did when I showed it to a friend who insisted it was "Blasphemy! Blasphemy!" ^_^
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first prologue. Sweet balm for an author's soul. =) Domo arigato gozaima, minna-sama! (glomps)