Episode Twenty-Five: The Beginning
Escaflowne:
Dreams of Destiny
Previously on Escaflowne:
Dreams of Destiny
The truth is finally revealed to
Hitomi in a dream that speaks of their new - and old - enemy. The
name Adelphus seems familiar, though she knows she has
never met him. But there is an underlying knowledge that
accompanies visions, and Hitomi is about to see her destiny
unfold...
// ~ * ~ \\
Hitomi woke up with a start.
Van, feeling her tremor slightly
within the circle of his arms, murmured slightly and drew her
closer. She relaxed slightly, but a nagging voice in her mind
kept whispering that there was something important that she had
to remember, something she had to tell Van.
Something that if she forgot to
say it, could have very drastic repercussions.
So what was it? What was she
supposed to remember?
Something about...
Adelphus!
She turned to Van, and kissed
him softly to wake him up.
***
Van replied to this kiss softly,
blinking his eyes open slowly to look at his fiancée. He had
felt her shake even while dreaming, and had drawn her closer, in
kind. But it appeared that whatever had been troubling her in her
dreams had not disappeared.
"What is it Hitomi?"
he asked softly, so as not to wake the other two with them.
"What did you dream?"
He always seemed to know. Know
what was wrong, what she felt, and if she dreamed. And he helped.
Which was why Hitomi was always so grateful to have him by her
side. Instead of replying right away, she buried her face in his
shoulder.
"Hitomi?" he asked
again, rubbing her back to ease the tension. "You can tell
me."
"The enemy Van. The dream
told me who they were." Their conversations were hardly ever
anything but to the point, and though the affection between them
was easily felt and seen, they rarely vocalized it save for an 'I
love you'.
"And they would be?"
"A man from the old Zaibach
army. The leader. He survived the last war even with the energy
bomb Basram had, and he had cursed revenge."
"Adelphus, Hitomi? He is
the one causing this?"
"I think so," she
replied softly. After a moment's hesitation, she whispered what
had been plaguing her since all of this had begun. "I'm
scared, Van."
Van looked down at her,
surprised. She had never said anything other than the contrary
before, and as if to comfort her, drew her closer. "Of what,
Hitomi?"
She paused, keeping close to him
as if to draw strength from his solid form. "Of everything,
Van. Of this war. Of Adelphus. Of my role, now. It seems as if
every time I come here Gaea is destined to be dragged into war. I
don't want that to happen again. And then... what happens if your
people don't accept me? What then? The Gateway will be close
and"
"Don't worry Hitomi. No
matter what happens, I will be with you, and my people will
accept you as willingly as you accepted me - even with my wings.
Besides, I love you too much to let anything come between us
again. We'll be together forever, I promise."
Reassured, she whispered his
name again, before they both drifted off into what seemed to be a
calming sleep.
Too bad for Hitomi that what she
saw the moment her mind drifted off was the exact opposite.
// ~ * ~ \\
*** Hitomi's Dream ***
There was this feeling
pulling at her, telling her that she needed to be somewhere.
And she needed to be there
NOW.
But where was it?
And where was she?
She gave a questioning look
around before she decided to look.
// ~ * ~ \\
Merle looked up into the sky
from one of the houses in their temporary village. It had already
been at least 6 months since the start of this new threat, and
yet, still there was no word from Lord Van.
Or Kirei. But even their
isolated little place that was Adon still heard news from the
rest of Gaea on the war. Mostly messengers from Asturia. Allen
Schezar himself had once arrived, that was only a few weeks ago,
to deliver news that he had seen the two Fanels while battling,
and that Hitomi was with them.
He had also said something about
a third, new ally
Merle shook her head at that.
She wouldn't know until they all came back what had happened and
who the newcomer was.
Lord Van would be safe, if
Hitomi and Kirei were with him. Merle knew that.
So why was something inside her
telling her mind that something very big was about to happen?
And also that that something had
the potential to have a horrible outcome?
// ~ * ~ \\
"Hello?" Hitomi's
voice echoed slightly because of the emptiness in the area
surrounding her. "Van? Varie? Is anyone here? Does anyone
know why I'm here?"
There was silence all around
her. And though it was somewhat unnerving to be completely alone
in this place, just as Kirei's Fanelia had seemed oddly familiar,
so too, did this place.
Only it wasn't a comforting
familiarity. It was an urgent one.
Was she supposed to come
here, wherever this place was...
Was she supposed to be here?
If so, then when?
Perhaps someone would come to
explain later.
Hitomi continued to look
around.
// ~ * ~ \\
Van woke up only once in the
middle of the night. It was as if there was something pulling at
him, telling him to go home.
But he already was in Fanelia.
Perhaps it was his home? The capital?
Or...
He was too tired to think about
the pulling feeling right at this moment. He could talk to Hitomi
once it was morning.
***
"Hitomi," said a
lilting voice, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Hitomi turned around quickly
in surprise. "Varie," she exclaimed, relieved,
"are here to explain?"
She nodded, smiling.
"The beginning of your destiny here is about to begin."
"The Gateway..."
"Yes. Have you made you
decision concerning the..."
"I... we... we're going
to seal the gateway. I can't sacrifice so many hopes and dreams
and lives just for me. Besides..."
"You have a reason to
stay now?" Varie smiled, making Hitomi blush slightly.
Hitomi nodded.
"So..."
"Come. I'll explain as
we go."
// ~ * ~ \\
Adelphus smirked at the news
that the sorcerers had just delivered.
So the Gateway was set to
appear...
His pieces were all in place.
They were going to come out of
this war, alive and victorious, if Adelphus had any say in it.
And he would make sure that he
had say in this outcome.
// ~ * ~ \\
"So what is this
place?"
"We are in Fanelia,
Hitomi."
"Fanelia? But I don't
recognize this..."
"We are on the borders,
far north of Kirei's duchy. This is the region of Adon."
"This is the place where
the Gateway..."
Varie nodded, and Hitomi
allowed herself a small smile, though the dangers were now
clearly laid ahead of her.
"Everything seems to
happen to Fanelia."
Varie, too, smiled.
Then Hitomi woke up.
*** End Dream
"Adon." The word was
silent, on Hitomi's lips.
// ~ * ~ \\
Hey everyone!!
It's been a while, ne?
Anyway, again, I'm VERY sorry that this chapter too agonizingly
long to get out, and also that it's very short (I have had a
series of major tests in the last two weeks), but on another
note... I seem to be getting into the whole 'mushy' aspect of
things. Sigh. I said I would be fulfilling the romance
requirement, and thus are doing so (please tell me it's alright).
But I WILL still bring the
Gateway back into play. That is after all, the focus of Hitomi's
purpose, and I've decided that this story will (unless of course
something else pops into my head) be 30 chapters. Hope you
enjoyed this chapter!
Angelic1090
05.09.2001
p.s. I'll try to get Episode
26 out a bit sooner. ^_^