Amoro Revidi
Title: Attack and Aftermath [Part Fifteen]
Series: Vision of Escaflowne
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Part 15... and I begin to think I might need a break from
this story... I really do think it's getting out of hand. This section is 8
pages long by my estimates, and I'm also working on other things. I should have
another part up either by christmas eve, yes, I mean by tomorrow, and
then, hopefully, another one on christmas day. That's my Christmas present to
you all. I'm also going to have to work at editing a few of my non-Escaflowne
stories for Christmas presents to various people. (Somehow it just doesn't seem
right that the story I'm writing about Christmas in GW isn't done for Christmas,
doncha think?) I'm thinking that Part 20 might be the pseudo-intermission...
uh... see notes in next part because these are getting really long.
Thanks for all the reviews! Happy Holidays.
***
Glancing around as she reaches the punchbowl, Kira feels something in the air and a shudder travels down her spine. Something isn't right… she thinks to herself, a sinking feeling in her stomach. What is it though…?
***
Looking up at the stars, Hitomi clasps her hands together over her heart and closes her eyes. Mother… slowly a tear slides down her cheek.
Van, standing several feet away, watches her actions, unsure of what to do.
What do I do now, mother? Father, what happens now? I love Van, I… I think I always have, but I just don't think I can be a queen. I'm not worthy of being a queen, not to so many people.
Hitomi's thoughts are suddenly cut off by a vision.
*
Opening her dream form's eyes Hitomi glances around.
"My Liege, we need only your go ahead to begin the attack."
A tall, stately looking man with a harsh face and short, curly hair, turns and glances past the messenger that came to bring him this news. "I do not like using Gecko to implement our plans," he says, regarding the silhouette of a figure.
"Your country does not have a ready force to attack with, my men just so happen to be available," a snake-like voice from the shadows responds.
"And so we have made an agreement, that I know. That doesn't mean I have to like it."
A third voice speaks up, from somewhere behind Hitomi's dream form, but she cannot turn fast enough to see the speaker's face, and the small room fades away as he says, "When all is said and done your name will go down history, not that you employed Gecko, but that you were the one to reshape Gaea…"
***
"Where is the note?" Jasper asks in a serious voice, standing and staring out at the estranged couple on the balcony below his suite through the window.
"I have it right here…" her voice trails off and she shouts, "Down!"
Without further prompting, Jasper ducks as the whistling strike of a sword slashes through the air where he was just standing. Rolling out of the way of the following strike he looks up to see her fighting three geckos, sword and dagger drawn.
"Nil!" he calls out, drawing his own sword from it's position under the bed.
"Get out of here, Jasper!" she shouts in response, slitting the throat of one of the attackers and slicing the hand off of another.
Glancing around his mind works quickly, trying to find a way out.
***
A commotion from within draws Hitomi's attention from the backs of her eyelids and she turns to find Van standing just behind her. "Hitomi, are you all right?" he asks, voice serious as he draws her face up to look at him by placing his hands under her chin. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"
"Van… I…"
A noise from above, the sound of shattering glass, breaks up her sentence and Van draws his cape up to shield her from the shards of glass.
"What the-?" Van manages to get out before he sees a pair of figures jump from the second story window, one positioning itself to land slightly before the other.
"Nil," Jasper says urgently, trying his best to get away from the strong grip that his bodyguard has on his arms as the two of them roll on the marble.
"Prince Jasper?" Hitomi asks, querulous as she peeks over Van's arm, which he shakes once to free of the glass that had fallen from above. "What's going on?" he demands.
"Geckos," the young woman says, drawn sword held to fend off the figures that leap from the window after the two of them.
***
Within the ballroom the geckos make themselves apparent, coming out of the shadows on the ceiling as well as from all around the room, leaping from behind the elaborate decorations to assault the assembled nobility.
Millerna cries out as several advance upon her, and at the same moment the Knights of Asturia, lead by Allen, break into the room with the royal guard at their backs, and a battle commences.
"All of you ladies, to the balcony, at once," Dryden calls above the din and clamor, as he throws a right cross at one of the gecko advancing on Millerna.
Allen, seeing the state of his king and queen, rushes forward with Gaddes at his side, and dispatches the remainder of those after his monarchs. Around the room certain members of the assembly draw swords and daggers and aid in protecting the nobility as they make their escape to the balcony without.
"Who would have sent them, Dryden?" Millerna asks as he ushers her outside.
Dryden, face a blank mask, does not respond immediately, but glances around at the remnants of the party and shakes his head. "Where's Fanelia?"
***
At the other end of the balcony Van pushes Hitomi behind him as the geckos not fighting with Jasper and his companion advance on the two of them. "Stay back," he shouts to them.
"Why would we do a silly thing like that, King Van?" the head of the small group advancing upon them asks with a vicious smile.
"I won't let you take her," he snarls in response.
There is a moment of silence between the two sides and Van glances over their shoulder to see how the other pair is fairing against their opponents before he moves forward to attack.
"Van, no!" Hitomi calls out, taking a step forward.
Glancing over his shoulder as he parries the stabbing motions of the geckos, Van throws Hitomi a reassuring smile and says, "Please, stay back, I won't let anything happen to you."
Hitomi bites her lip as she feels the terror inside her breast grow worse. Just like the vision said… why did I have to have another vision?
***
Slowly the geckos retreat as they find themselves outnumbered, but on their way out they manage to make off with a few of the assembled nobles, despite the best efforts of the guard and the Knights' Caeli. As the smoke of the geckos' departure clears roll is taken and casualties are assessed.
"Hitomi!" Millerna calls, searching frantically through the crowds as they are all moved into the main hall of the castle. "Van!"
"Queen Millerna," Allen says in a strained and quiet voice from near her as she continues to search, "You will find the two of them being tended to over here," he motions her to a small alcove where those with some knowledge of healing had been set up with supplies.
Millerna had been so wrapped up in her search for her friends that she had not even given a second thought to helping them, and it was probably better that way, Allen reasons, since Dryden would most certainly disapprove of her wasting her energies when there were others more qualified to the task at hand. Taking her elbow in hand, Allen leads her towards the alcove and shows her that the two of them are all right.
Van, kneeling beside Jasper's companion, is having his right sleeve cut off to check for the initial damage of the glass shards he had protected Hitomi from.
"I don't believe there will be any real damage to your arm, Your Majesty," she says, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and leaving a smear or crimson in its wake. "Jasper, let me see your arm."
"Nil, you're bleeding," Jasper starts to protest.
"I'm not dying," she counters, "and you are the first priority."
"You sound just like Merle," Hitomi says absently, helping to finish up Van's minimal bandaging. "And… Arik…" she continues slowly.
"It is the duty of every bodyguard to put the life of their protectorate before their own," Nil informs Hitomi evenly. "Were you injured, My Lady?"
Jasper grumbles as the long, shallow slash running up his left forearm is cleaned and bandaged by Nil's nimble hands. "Lady Hitomi, meet Nileyah Calipse."
"At your service, My Lady," Nil says, finally washing the deeper gash on her own hand and wrapping a quick, tight bandage around it.
Hitomi nods dumbly, fretting about the wounds Van received protecting her, and hoping against hope that the incident has nothing to do with her vision.
***
Millerna, starting to move forward to check on Van and Hitomi, suddenly freezes in her tracks. "Queen Millerna?" Allen asks, sensing her sudden distress.
Breaking away from Allen, Millerna takes off at a dead run in the direction of the royal suite. "Your Majesty!" Allen calls out, incised, and follows her.
Oh, oh, Exeter… my gods, how could I have forgotten about you…
Allen glances around, annoyed that he finds himself chasing Millerna when there are other things he could be doing to handle the situation, and angrily he wonders where Dryden is, Millerna, the Queen, after all, being his wife, and so his responsibility. His mind wanders, as he chases after her, about his sister's whereabouts.
***
A loud noise had awoken Celena, and she had left her room to check and see what was happening. As soon as she entered the hallway she had been pushed aside by several soldiers as they made their way frantically through the halls towards the ballroom.
She remembered that because she and Allen had quarreled about her attending the festivities. He thought it would be good for her to get out of her room and spend time with people her own age, but ever since she had seen the Fanelian King board the Crusade she had felt a desperate urge to withdraw from the entire situation.
After the royal guard passed she thought immediately of the only other persons that would be anywhere away from the ball, and gone to seek out Duke Chid and Prince Exeter. As soon as she entered that wing of the castle she heard the sounds of a scuffle.
As she neared the prince's chambers the noises became louder and a wailing erupted from within as a dying scream resounded in her ears. Deep within her the urge to flee became overpowering, but something else… she could not be sure if it was the maternal instinct she often felt around Chid and the young prince or if it was the baser, more primal part of her that enjoyed watching her brother battle, but something else within her forced her to move forward and open the door of the prince's chamber.
When she saw the gecko advancing on the young prince, her vision went red, and the last thing she remembered was picking up the sword of one of the fallen guards.
***
Dryden enters the wing, fingers crossed, brow furrowed as he hopes against hope that his fears will not be confirmed. He had forced himself to leave Millerna once he knew that she was safe, because he simply had to know what became of their son. Swallowing as he hears the panting and the scuffle coming from the room, he throws the weight of his body into the door in his urgency to get inside.
"Exeter!" he calls through the door as he rams it with his shoulder again.
"Daddy!" a frightened voice shrieks in response.
After a third ram of his shoulder the door gives way, sending Dryden into the room and sprawling him on the wet carpet. Ignoring the wetness beneath him, he pushes himself up to his knees as he scans the area for his son, whom he finally sees huddled in the corner not too far away. Moving instantly to the young boy's side, Dryden glances around the room and takes in the scene, finally.
Celena Schezar, short hair drenched in sweat, stands holding a sword and fending off two geckos. As he watches, tucking Exeter's head against his chest to shield him from the further horrors of the situation, she cuts first one and then the other down.
She wheels around and focuses on Dryden, but, blue eyes recognizing him, she drops the sword, panting, and collapses to her hands and knees on the carpet.
"Celena?" he asks, voice unsure.
"Your… Majesty," she breathes heavily, "is the prince…"
"He is fine, thanks to you," Dryden replies, stroking the young boy's hair before looking down to see that his hands are wet as well, and then, glancing at the carpet, the coppery scent of the room hits him all at once, and he realizes that the carpet is drenched in blood.
"I'm… glad," she says before blacking out.
***
"Exeter!" Millerna cries out as she nears the room.
***
Standing, waiting on the High Bikathian's leisure, clad in her battle skirts and armor, Merle overhears part of the conversation she is having with Sotet.
"And you're positive?" Mot asks, standing and turning angrily to face the window in her office. "You're sure it was Gecko that attacked the Palas event?"
"All the Kathis in attendance have reported in with the same," Sotet responds, standing at attention with his hands hanging down his sides. "Your orders, Mistress Tovenaar?"
"Gather together the Council, we will discuss what to do this evening at late meal," Mot says with a snarl. "If it's a fight the rebels want… it is a fight they shall have."
"Mistress, would it not be wise to be assured of the safety of the Kathis' protectorates first?" Sotet asks.
"That is the duty of the Kathis themselves. Priority will be given to those whose countries are already overrun by traitors," Mot replies offhandedly. "Merle, come forth."
Stepping forward into the better lit area of the room, Merle falls into the same attentive stance that Sotet maintains. "Mistress?"
"You are to return to Fanelia and collect Dulchap and the High Priest, I want them brought here at once." Mot pauses, and then continues, as if to herself, "This is obviously of a larger scale than anticipated."
"Mistress were you expecting this development?"
"One never expects betrayal, Merle," Mot replies. "One fears it, one plans for it, but to say that I was expecting this…"
"Would that not imply some sort of prophetic ability, Mistress?" Sotet asks, staring straight ahead, hands tense at his sides. "One that no human may possess?"
And yet we all know that Mistress Mot is not human, no more than I am, Merle thinks to herself.
Sotet glances at the cat woman from the corner of his eye as he says this.
"Maintain no delusions about your position here, Sotet, you would do well to learn a bit more from Merle, your assignment will become the focus of your world just as hers has become to her."
Sotet grunts.
"Mock not your fate, Sotet," she responds. "Now, go call the council. Leave us."
With a stiff bow Sotet turns on his heel and exits the room, closing the door behind him. "Mistress, what's going on?"
"A group of Gecko attacked the anniversary celebration in Palas."
"Gecko, Mistress?" Merle asks in a revolted tone.
"Certain nobles were taken by them… the list should arrive by this evening," Mot shrugs off the news with a thin lipped mask covering her face. "Do not worry, your king and the Lady Hitomi were unharmed, as was the royal family…" Mot ponders that outcome for a moment, "I believe there is something more to that… but I will know more once the report arrives."
"When do I depart, Mistress?" Merle asks, an edge to her voice asking for the High Bikathian to hurry up her musings and get on with it.
"After the late meal, I am well aware of your traveling preferences, and I would like you to sit in on the council meeting."
"Yes, Mistress."
Allen frowns as he pulls the covers up to Celena's chin. From Dryden's report, and he had soon dropped his anger at being forced to chase the Queen on her mad dash to Exeter's room as it had proved to locate his other two persons of concern, Chid and Celena, as well as the fact that the king was already inside the dim bedroom with the prince when he had arrived and hadn't run to hide somewhere else.
Chid had entered the room, quite undisturbed by anything more than the commotion of Millerna's screaming, and had been ushered, along with everyone else, back out into the hallway. Exeter, Chid, and Celena had been arranged new temporary quarters, since the stench of Exeter's old bedroom was permeating the wing, and the room was ordered cleaned up by the Queen before Dryden forced her to calm down and return to her guests, assured of the safety of both Exeter and Chid by Allen's presence.
Exeter had not spoken a single word, but his father had declined sending him to bed just then, and Chid had opted to do what he could to help his aunt and uncle in reorganizing the castle, leaving Allen to tend to his sister.
From the king's reports, Allen has a sinking feeling in his gut as he glances down at her slumbering form. She had been minimally wounded during the battle, nothing deeper than a scratch, but her sudden recollection of swordplay was alarming, nonetheless. Sinking down into a chair he takes her hand, quietly, and presses his lips to her knuckles.
***
Van and Hitomi had been the first to receive quarters once the tallies were taken, and though Hitomi wanted to look for Kira and ask after Jasper's condition, Van's quiet insistence won her over.
The connected rooms are much less elaborate and splendid than the prior suites their belongings occupied, but neither feels uncomfortable as they explore the single two bedroom suite they were assigned. Van makes sure that Hitomi is settled before leaving briefly to check on the other Fanelian nobles that had accompanied them.
Hitomi, sitting in the inner room, looks at the drab walls and then down at her ball gown, a frown creasing her lips as she peels the gloves off her arms and takes off the jewelry Fanelia had loaned her for the event. Still feeling somewhat overdressed she goes to her bags and searches out a more functional outfit.
Upon returning, Van sighs and leans up against the door.
"Van?" Hitomi calls from the back room.
"Yeah, it's just me… Hitomi."
***
Jasper looks around, somewhat fretfully, Nil following him. He stops one of the guards and asks politely, "Might I inquire after the Princess Kira of Basram?"
"My sincerest apologies, Prince Jasper, but the Princess Kira hasn't been seen or heard of since the Gecko attacked," the list bearing guard says, "It appears that she was one of those that was taken by them."
Shocked to silence, Jasper stares down at the list in the guard's hand. "Thank you, sir," Nil says, and the guard continues on his way. "Jasper…" Nil's voice is low, warning and she takes him by the arm, moving him out of the grand high arched hallway and into a small alcove with a fountain.
"Kira…" he whispers quietly. "I thought for sure that she…"
"Regretfully she is the middle child," Nil says quietly.
"So she had no…"
"None, Jasper," she requires quietly. "If I had known…"
"No," Jasper replies, putting his arms around her and pulls her close, leaning his face against her hair. "No, I know what you're going to say, Nil, and no. You couldn't have done anything more than you did. It was hard enough for you to keep up with me last evening… I wouldn't expect for you to do any more than what you were already doing."
Nil closes her eyes. It seems that all of us are doomed to fail at some point.
"You like her," Nil says in a low voice.
"Yes, I suppose I do," Jasper replies, closing his eyes.
Nil pulls away gently and turns towards the windows to the outside courtyard, "We will get her back then."
Jasper, blinking, looks at Nil with disbelieving eyes.
"Trust me," Nil says, smiling compassionately, "There are harder things to do than track Gecko," she reaches back and takes his hand in her own bandaged one, "Come on, let's go see what Dryden's working on about retrieving his wife's guests."
Jasper nods quietly, and the two of them start on down the hallway.
***
Awakening, she can hear next to nothing, and feels only cold. The sleeves of her gown are too thin to be of any use to her as the cage trundles along.
"So… Fillah," a snake-like voice says, "What do you think that one will fetch with the high and mighty folk?"
"If you ask me," another voice from outside her range of view says, "I don't think that capturing a bunch of spoiled rich kids wasn't worth the lives we lost in doing it."
"Hey, it wasn't our fault that there were Kathis at that party."
Kathis…? She pulls her arms more tightly around her in an attempt to stave off the cold. Slowly the others in the cage wake up.
"Did we get any of them?"
"I didn't see… but then I was with Kaiser's unit… going after that Prince from Cesario." She sits up and puts her hands on the bars.
"How is Kaiser…?"
"He lost his hand."
"Did you get the prince?" the first voice asks.
"No, we barely got away after he dove out the window like he did… met up with that Fanelian king, and man I'm glad we weren't after him. He fought like a demon."
Lowering her eyes as a hand grasps her trailing sleeve, she glances over to see one of the other young women in the cage crying piteously and starting to cling to her. Setting her lips in a firm line, dark hair hanging limply as she slaps the young woman.
"What was that for!" The other princess demands, angrily clutching the side of her face. She starts to sniffle as she gets done wither indignant reply.
"You were going to get hysterical," Kira replies evenly.
"What sort of a princess are you?" the other young woman demands, still crying.
"I'm not one," Kira says angrily.