asalways03.html "...A general ?"

My father nods solemnly, "I was only in the armed forces for a few years, but I rose to power very quickly... My father was also connected with the military, and he had taught me everything... All his fantastic skill. Then I married your mother. She tried to make me give up my position in the army, but my father was always there to silence her. As long as he was around, she could not control my life.

"Cherandle, you might think that your mother's reign on our family started when you were ten... But it began long before then... A few months after we got married, my father died. I gave up my position. Your mother saw how broken I was and allowed me to teach you battle skills once you were born... But she forbade me to tell you anything about my military past... Besides the fact that I had one.

"You see, Cherandle, to your mother, war... And the idea of the army itself... Was an atrocity, an abomination, something of such brutality that it was unthinkable. I still think it was some trauma from her past that she didn't want to reveal... but while I was teaching you swordfighting and battle etiquette, she was out spending all our money just to forget her grief... We became poor."

All the military pleasantries have ended by now. My father and I are standing, looking out at the world through one of the Vione's vast window. But my eyes seem mute. My ears are seeing everything through my father's words.

"And when you turned ten... It was as if she just couldn't take it anymore. She tightened her grip, and took complete control. I cared too much about her feelings to try and stop her..."

"But father..." I say, "When I first met Lord Dilandau, he said you had tried to get a... Well, he called you 'common'."

"Hm." My father smiles. He seems almost amused. "Yes, we tried to get a search party sent out for you a few times. Truth is, the military was simply too occupied with forming the empire to send out a search party for one girl... I knew it and your mother knew it, but we figured it was worth a shot. Also, well... Since I abandoned the army, most of them don't have a very high opinion of me..."

I'm looking straight out the window now. I'm trying not to cry. "So where is Mother now?"

"I honestly don't know," he says, "I left her after our third... and final... request for a search party was denied. That must've been... Dear me... Almost a year ago. But at least her reign is over..."

Suddenly, I've broken down in tears. I cover my face with my hands and sob.

"My daughter!" He exclaims. I throw my arms around him.

"Oh, father!" I cry, holding him tight, "...I'm so happy to know the truth!..."

He returns the embrace, "And I am relieved... That you now know..."

I pull away from him and wipe the tears from my eyes. I look up into his eyes... Bright green, like mine. And his hair color matches mine exactly.

Well, I think, As long as he confessed his story...

"Father," I say, "I should probably tell you that... I... I mean, I think that I might have-"

He holds up a hand to stop me, "I know what your trying to tell me. Well, it was bound to happen, with you traveling all over Gaea for two years. You found a boy, eh?" He playfully punches my shoulder, and I can't help but smile, "Well, I think that's wonderful. Anything's better than having an arranged marriage. I tell ya, I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to that. I'm not going to try to control you like your mother did. I trust you to make the right choices. Get it while the getting's good, I say." We both laugh at that last comment.

"You came all this way just to see me?" I ask when the sound of our laughter dies down.

"No," he shakes his head, "Actually, I had no idea you were here. I just came to check up on the situation with Fanelia... I suppose you've heard about Escaflowne already."

I nod, "A guymelef of Fanelia. We're going to try to capture it once the new king is crowned."

"Hm." He says, "Well, you should be hearing a lot more about it soon... Especially since your unit is almost complete." He turns towards me again and lays his hand on my shoulders, "Oh, my daughter..." He says, "I could not be prouder of you."

"Thank you, father."

*

"Your FATHER? That guy was your FATHER?!"

"Yeah." I nod. I've actually gotten over the shock of it by now. Gatti, on the other hand, has only just heard about it, and seems in a daze.

"What a mind job!" Migel, in the bunk across from out, exclaims, "Did he know you were here?"

"No," I say, shaking my head, "He said he had just come to check on the situation with Fanelia."

The entire barracks is abuzz with conversation- about number fifteen, about guymelefs, and, of course, about my father.

"You mother must be one tough lady," says Gatti.

"That's why I left." I say.

Suddenly, the door shoofs open. It's not Dilandau... It's about as tall as Rafael. All conversation stops and we all turn to look at this figure, who walks into the room. It's a boy with spiky gray hair and glasses.

We all know who... Or rather, what he is, but I suppose Gatti can't help teasing this newcomer a bit. He jumps down from his bunk, "And who are you?" He asks.

"I'm Kestrel Skye," he says, looking a little put off, "Lord Dil-"

But Gatti interrupts him, his face breaking into a grin, "Ah, so you're the fifteenth Dragon Slayer. Congratulations! My name's Gatti." All the rest of us see that as our cue to jump down as well and introduce ourselves.

After everyone has told Kestrel their name, Migel turns to him, "Kestrel, huh? So how come you're named after a guymelef regiment?..." the Kestrel Regiment- it's an elite guymelef unit of Zaibach.

"Yeah, what kind of person would name their kid 'Kestrel'?" Malenla asks, her arms crossed.

"The same sort of person who would command the Kestrel Regiment," says Kestrel.

Migel's jaw drops, "Your father commands the Kestrels?"

"Ever ridden a guymelef?" Guimel asks.

"Yeah."

"Wow!" Everyone is impressed. Gatti speaks up, "What kind?"

"I've mostly trained with ground units," he explains, "But I've also ridden the Alseides model."

"You're lucky," Dalet rolls his eyes, "All we ever get to do is simulations."

Migel claps Kestrel on the back, "Not anymore, now that we've got good ol' number fifteen, here." He ruffles Kestrel's hair. Kestrel doesn't seem to appreciate that very much.

"I hear the ones they're issuing us have got flamethrowers." Says Corran- he's shorter than me, but not as short as Malenla- and he's got flaming red hair and dark brown eyes, almost black.

"Yeah, and liquid metal claws!" Raphael exclaims. The other guys cheer. Viole and I look at each other and roll our eyes. I can tell we're thinking the same thing- Boys... Although I have to admit the idea of liquid metal claws sounds really cool.

Our thoughts and cheers are interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat very loudly. We all turn to see who it is, and then snap to attention. Dilandau is standing in the doorway.

"Now that this group is complete, I don't want to waste any more time," he says, "You will all report immediately to the hanger to be issued your guymelefs." He leaves.

There is a pause for a moment, where it seems no one knows exactly what to do. Then Gatti turns to Kestrel, "Well, Skye, guess you can take that bunk, under Cherandle's and mine. You can store your gear in the compartment behind the bed."

"The rest of us should get going," says Viole.

"I'll stay here and make sure Kestrel gets to the hanger," says Gatti. The rest of us leave in the direction of the hanger.

*

Dilandau enters the hanger moments after Gatti and Kestrel arrive. The rest of us had been admiring the guymelefs- they're blue, with a very intriguing design. They're small, but they appear very maneuverable. And to me, the thought of flying in... or simply OPERATING... the Alseides is very exciting.

But now that Dilandau is here, we're all standing at attention again. As he walks to and stops in the area between us and the guymelefs, I realize that one thing I really like about him is his face- and not the face itself really, more like the range of expressions it can take on. It's not even that simple; his face almost has its own personality. And the smallest smile to the slightest adjustment of his eyebrows can magically alter his attitude.

And right now, even as he strides calmly in front of us, his face shows him to be just as excited about this as the rest of us.

"Time for your assignments," he says. He moves down the line of guymelefs, calling out a name with each one. The guymelefs have no insignia or identifying marks yet, so they're simply given out in order by last name. I, of course, am the last to be assigned a guymelef. But I don't care.

We all stand by our guymelefs- all fifteen of us- and we are no longer a simple military group. We are now a Melef Unit. A feeling of pride and honor flows through me.

Dilandau interrupts the silence that has been occupying the hanger for the last few moments:

"We will begin training immediately."

*

We don't actually get to operate the Alseideses in that first afternoon. After they are moved to a training area- much larger than the sword combat training room- we are given a sort of instruction session on how to use them.

The flamethrowers are simple enough. To operate them, we just push a button in the arm of the guymelef. However, the flamethrowers are not to be used unless orders are given.

The liquid metal, or crima claw, is another story- in both arms of every Alseides are two knobs, a button, and a small sort of lever. Knob One controls how many claws we want- up to five. The button shoots the claws- press it once to prepare them, a second time to shoot. The lever controls the heat- and therefore the moldability- of the claws, and the final knob is to warp the claws. The more to the left the knob is turned, the more warped the claw becomes. If there is too much heat used, the Energist will override and the guymelef will fall.

Then, there is the flight mode- to activate it, we push down on the foot stirrups, and to deactivate we bend our knees and pulls our legs slightly apart. The stealth cloaks- activated by a switch in the right arm- cannot be used in flight.

Although we don't actually start up our melefs, we do sit inside them in order to learn all this. It seems very complicated from the looks of everything. Not to mention we'll have to activate the crima claws by feel only.

I hope I can get this all figured out before the prince of Fanelia is crowned...

*

We're once again back in the barracks, this time to go to sleep. All our sleeping clothes are the same- a simple white set of pajamas. Quite a cool alternative to the sometimes sweaty leather uniforms.

It seems that no one is able to get to sleep tonight- we're all talking about our lives before we joined the team. In honor of Kestrels' arrival, I suppose. Once we've all taken our turn and told our story, the bunk groups fall into their own separate conversations.

As for me, I'm just lying in bed looking at the bunk farthest from mine... Well, not really looking at it, just sort of staring off into nothing.

My eyes are currently on the top bed of the bunk farthest from mine. Xori occupies that bed. He's very tall, a bit taller even than Viole, with long, black hair that he keeps in a ponytail, and beetle-black eyes. He seldom speaks... But when he does, what is said usually contains either great wisdom, philosophy, or advice. He was the son of a monk who, when he found out Xori was joining the army, flew into a rage and nearly disowned him. But Xori eventually got his way anyway.

Below Xori is Palem. One probably wouldn't even notice her if it weren't for her looks... She's got purple eyes, and the kind of hair that's black and is so shiny that it shines blue, so the person always seems to have a halo of blue light around their head. Palem, like Xori, isn't much of a talker, but in her case it's because she's shy. It was a bit of a shock to find out tonight that she has military parents- who most likely forced her into this.

And then, below Palem, is a boy with light brown hair and gray eyes. He is speaking to his fellow bunkmates almost constantly. You see, this boy, Alix, is much more of a talker than Xori or Palem. He's very opinionated about the things he knows. We all found out tonight that if Alix hadn't been here, he probably would have been working in his family's factory, which, I agree, would not have been a good move. I don't think Alix could sit still for a second.

When my eyes finally decide to go drifting off somewhere else, my mind drifts to the occupants of my own bunkmates. We all knew where Kestrel was coming from, but Gatti's story pretty much shocked all of us who hadn't heard it before. The son of a farmer! I wouldn't have thought it.

Below me, Kestrel is unpacking his stuff- my bunk is mostly empty, save my childhood sword which hangs on the bedframe... It's too small to use in combat, anyway. Although when he heard about the swordfighting book, Father promised to send a few new books to me.

The first thing Kestrel takes out of his bag is a sword. "Nice sword." Gatti remarks.

"It's my father's," says Kestrel.

I want to get a closer look. "Can I see it?"

The sword is passed up to me, and I give it a short inspection. There's a hawk on the pommel and some words inscribed on the hilt- 'Never Surrender'.

"It's beautiful," I say, passing it back down to him. The next thing out of the bag is a set of books, then finally, an old-looking guitar.

"Can you play that?" Gatti asks.

"Er, kind of." Kestrel adjusts his glasses, "My Dad's aide was teaching me a play when I joined up."

"Great!" Gatti exclaims, "I share my bunk group with a girl and a half-trained guitar player."

Kestrel and I throw our pillows at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Disclaimer Time!

I do not/do not claim to own Dilandau, Folken, the Vione, etc, etc. I DO, however, own the character Cherandle Zarain, as well as her father, Malenla, Julie, Rafael, Corran, Xori, and Palem. The characters Kestrel Skye and Alix, and the Kestrel Regiment, belong to Kestrel, and are used with his permission.