Chapter 7
Van watched the steaming, streaming, remains of the crumpled guymelef and
heaved a huge sigh. He hopped out of Escaflowne and jogged towards the
totaled black guymelef. It groaned and sagged. Van stood a bit a away and
suddenly felt the earth under him tremble. He stepped back and watched in
disbelief as the chest piece-which had the sword stuck well into it-slowly
creaked open and a dark form emergered. "Folken?" breathed Van in
disbelief. The figure stood defiantly, dripping with blood.
"Van.brother." He collapsed. Van stood and watched the still form of the
Black Dragon. He stared for a moment and felt a faint tug on his heart.
Van suddenly doubled over as the intense pain rose from the middle of his
chest. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he gasped for breath. Slowly,
he lapsed into blackness.
"Van...brother.we will conquer Gaia together." Van looked curiously up at his older brother. Dune was his idol, but sometimesd he said the weirdest things. It was after the big party their family had had and the brothers were sitting on the castle wall overlooking the sunset that was firing over the valley. Van let his brther's words go and continued playing with his wooden figures. Merle hopped up on the ledge next to them and purred as Dune stroked her head.
"Van, do you love me?"
Van paused again and looked up at his brother; Dune was staring hard down at him. He smiled and giggled, "Of course, Dune! I will always love you!" Dune laughed too and gathered Van in his arms. Van fought him off as baby Merle helped with her paws and budding teeth. Dune stopped laughing and set Van carefully on his lap. He grabbed Merle by the back of her neck and held on tightly as he said to Van, "I will take care of Merle, okay? You have to go now." Van glanced up at his brother when suddenly he was falling.
"DUNE! HELP ME!"
Dune called, "Fly to the Mystic Moon brother, Fly!" He turned away. Van understood and suddenly his small weak wings were slowing his descent, he caught a thermal and veered towards a lower castle wall. He caught the edge of the wall and hauled himself in. He heard a shriek. He looked up: the castle was in flames.
"MAMA! PAPA!" He ran for the castle as another flame exploded through the castle's roof. "Dune!" As he ran down the burning hall towards the throne room he caught sight of the tall figure walking away, carrying Merle, who was crying/mewling. He was advancing on a small girl with pink ribbons in her hair and a blue and white uniform on. "What.?" Van stopped as he watched Dune and the girl. The girl was crying and she crouched low as Dune raised his hand. Van's eyes widened as he realized what Dune was about to do. "DUNE, NO!" The girl's head snapped up and Van saw lumnious green eyes.before the pink light exploded through his eyes and all was black.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw faces.new faces.his parents? He closed his eyes. Opened them again.back in school. "Sorry Van, about your parents." They're dead.
Van sat up slowly and stared at the dead figure of Folken--Dune. Was this Dune's parting gift? Was it a dream.or a vision? He unhurriedly stood up and watched as the Black Dragon Guymelef slowly disappeared in green light identical to the times Escaflowne appeared/reappeared. Dune's body also vanished, and left was nothing but a small crater. Van heaved a huge sigh, well that was done.
Suddenly, behind him, he heard a great creaking and groaning behind him and swivled quickly as he remembered Escaflowne and Hitomi inside. He sprinted back to Escaflowne and watched in amazement as it changed from a guymelef into a dragon. He was even more amazed when he saw Hitomi standing atop the dragon, holding onto what looked like reins. She was back in her normal clothes.
"Jesus christ, I have a lot to learn about this fucking machine." Hitomi smiled down at him and called gently, "Want to go for a ride?" Van grinned back and hauled himself up behind Hitomi. Then, both standing, with Van clutching Hitomi tightly around her waist, they sped up into the blue sky.
After a few moments of silence Hitomi murmured, "You restored peace to Gaia Van, by killing Folken." Van sighed sadly as the wind whipped Hitomi's hair into his eyes and he replied, "We defeated the Black Dragons together, Hitomi. And together is how we should stay. But if we do, we need to sort out some extremely hard issues."
Hitomi shrugged and glanced back at him, "Like what?" Van kissed her on her nose and said, "Like why you can fly and I can't." Hitomi stared quizzically at him and then she laughed. "You want to fly, do you?" She broke away from him and stepped lightly onto Escaflowne's tail. Her wings fluffed out and rippled in the breeze. "Come on, Van.I'll teach you how to fly." She extended her hand for him.
He stared. If he was Fanelan, then how come he didn't have wings? Hitomi rose a bit off Escaflowne and smiled cryptically. Suddenly, Van felt an explosive pressure on his back and then he heard a ripping sound. "Have you ever heard of the Tsubasas no Kamis? Goddess and God of Wings. With our tsubasa, Van, we can fly." Van craned his neck to look behind him and gasped as he saw a broad set of snowy-white wings protruding from his back. He flexed his muscels and saw them flap up and down. He rose a bit off Escaflowne.
Hitomi took off and soared into the sky. She called, "You were never from Earth! And I was never from Gaia!" Van smiled at this comment and wondered how she knew.He forgot it and took off into the calm sky, following his Tsubasa no Kami.
"This is fucking awesome!" cried Van as he wheeled upside down high above Escaflowne. Hitomi nodded tiredly and Van swooped over to her, taking her in his arms, which was kind of awkward, seeing as they both had huge sets of wings. She nuzzled his neck and asked softly, "Van, can we take a rest?" Van smiled and nodded, then they both headed down to a convenient peaceful-looking meadow next to a lake, Escaflowne following duitfully.
Both circled and landed gracefully. Hitomi's wings disappeared almost instantly, but Van let his linger a bit. Hitomi walked towards him smiling and stroked one of his wings. He shivered as he felt it reflexively flick and smiled as she put her arms around his waist. As his wings got sucked into his back, he held her to him and asked, "Did you know all along that you weren't.from Gaia?" Hitomi rested her cheek against his chest and replied slowly, "No. I.I finally saw my past, and you saw yours. Just before or after, Folk-Dune, died."
Van closed his eyes and swallowed thickly. So she had seen. He offered something, "What I don't understand is how people couldn't tell you weren't the real queen.wouldn't they have known the royal family only had two sons, and no girls? I don't get that part." Hitomi didn't say anything but she shifted and looked up at him. He opened his eyes to stare down at her lovely green eyes.
Slowly smiling up at him, as tears filled her eyes, she whispered, "I think I made people believe I was the only remaining of the royal household. I mean, the entire castle was destroyed and everyone in it.the entire city was razed, with only a few dazed survivors.how could anyone remember clearly after such a horrible experience? And I forced myself to believe it too.At first, I had nightmares of being snatched from my bed and I couldn't see my parents' faces clearly. I would cry endlessly. I do remember an old beast woman taking me in and her son, Jajuka, cared for me as any father would. He told me I was found in the royal palace and how I was Fanela's last hope. I needed something to live for, Jajuka taught me that. So, it seemed the only reason I was living was to avenge my country."
She took a deep breath and looked off into the distance. A tear coursed down her cheek, but Van quickly wiped it away. Hitomi smiled at him.
"I would hear other people in the village talk of how I couldn't be the real heir to the throne. I forced them, I yelled, acted like I was royalty, later, after Jajuka trained me in swords I would challenge anyone who thought I wasn't queen, heir, whatever. Pretty soon, everyone forgot it and just believed in me. They needed someone to believe in. I was their last hope. That was my hope, too, that I wouldn't fail them. The rebels of Fanela, that we stayed with once, are the last remaining of the Fanelans. It's funny though, how much it hurt me to look at the rubble of the city, or to see some misplaced child in the forest who couldn't know the splendors of my country. For even though I had never lived there during Fanela's prime..I just knew the city had been beautiful. I wanted it back, I ached for it.I had no other purpose in life."
Hitomi paused again and glanced up, grinning, "Can we sit down, I kinda want to." Van nodded seriously and they sat down, Hitomi plucking at the grass between her legs and Van waiting for her to continue. Escaflowne sat patiently.
"Jajuka died around the time I turned sixteen. It was during a battle. We had been out hunting with a large group from our renegade village. It was at that time I realized I couldn't hide in the forest, waiting for the person who had destroyed my country to find me, I had to find them! I was determined, especially after Jajuka died.he was such a nice man. He made me cry, when he left, I cried without stopping, I threw up I cried so hard. I missed him so much."
She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly, letting the tears run freely. Van rubbed her back comfortingly and whispered, "It's ok.."
He hugged her as she said, "Thank you, Van, I don't know how I could never have had you.." She clung to him and sniffed loudly then murmured, "I have to finish my story." Van nodded.
"After he died.I went off alone, wth only my sword and the clothes on my back to avenge Jajuka, my country, and just to get out of there. We had been attacked because we had come to the outskirts of a warfield, and the Black Dragon Clan thought we were their enemies. They made me their enemy." She ended darkly as she pulled away slowly.
"A couple of days later, I intercepted some Dragonslayers on their way to Dilandau. I fought them, and thought I was winning, but then 2 others showed up and that's how I met Dilandau. He was young at that time too, as young as me.he was kinder too, if you can believe it. He offered a spot on the Dragonslayers for me but I defiantly declined. I challenged him to fight, if I won I could go free. He felt sorry for me, which I can't imagine either.he let me win.with the words I was going to repay him someday. I ran off. He doesn't lie.I did repay him..horribly--"
She broke off suddenly with a harsh sob and Van felt so angry and sad she had to experience what she did. He crushed her hand in his and whispered, "Hitomi.love." She sobbed loud and clear, letting all of her emotions out. Sitting on that warm grass with the one she loved and the large blue sky floating gently above them.
As Van let her cry, he ached to make her better and glanced up at the pale sailing clouds. Her hand loosened in his as she quieted but he raised it to his lips and gently kissed it. Her small, warm, brown hand fit pefectly in his. He raised his eyes to her teary ones and smiled half- heartedly. Hitomi smiled back at him through her tears and watched his eyes. He leaned toward her, almost shyly, and gently gave her the kiss of love.
The kiss were you know it doesn't have to be drawn out, messy, or passionate to understand the emotions and love coursing through the other's veins. You just know. It's ok to say "I love you," through that one kiss. Peace.
epilouge: they loved each other forever. Fill in your own ending, because I could never make one fitting for this awesome story. peace, love, & etc.
&end&
Thank all of you for being so supportive. I'm sorry this took so long, my computer suxor really a lot. Scike. I did make this a lemon story, but fanfic is deleting every thing so read it if you want, but I'm not oing to fix any of the mistakes I made cuz it's not worth it. So, whatever. tsubasa_no_kami@juno.com 3 caritas PS:check out www.lizzard.net/Escaflowne-Tsubasa No Kami Shrine-run by Mistress Lizzard! It rocks! Cya!
"Van...brother.we will conquer Gaia together." Van looked curiously up at his older brother. Dune was his idol, but sometimesd he said the weirdest things. It was after the big party their family had had and the brothers were sitting on the castle wall overlooking the sunset that was firing over the valley. Van let his brther's words go and continued playing with his wooden figures. Merle hopped up on the ledge next to them and purred as Dune stroked her head.
"Van, do you love me?"
Van paused again and looked up at his brother; Dune was staring hard down at him. He smiled and giggled, "Of course, Dune! I will always love you!" Dune laughed too and gathered Van in his arms. Van fought him off as baby Merle helped with her paws and budding teeth. Dune stopped laughing and set Van carefully on his lap. He grabbed Merle by the back of her neck and held on tightly as he said to Van, "I will take care of Merle, okay? You have to go now." Van glanced up at his brother when suddenly he was falling.
"DUNE! HELP ME!"
Dune called, "Fly to the Mystic Moon brother, Fly!" He turned away. Van understood and suddenly his small weak wings were slowing his descent, he caught a thermal and veered towards a lower castle wall. He caught the edge of the wall and hauled himself in. He heard a shriek. He looked up: the castle was in flames.
"MAMA! PAPA!" He ran for the castle as another flame exploded through the castle's roof. "Dune!" As he ran down the burning hall towards the throne room he caught sight of the tall figure walking away, carrying Merle, who was crying/mewling. He was advancing on a small girl with pink ribbons in her hair and a blue and white uniform on. "What.?" Van stopped as he watched Dune and the girl. The girl was crying and she crouched low as Dune raised his hand. Van's eyes widened as he realized what Dune was about to do. "DUNE, NO!" The girl's head snapped up and Van saw lumnious green eyes.before the pink light exploded through his eyes and all was black.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw faces.new faces.his parents? He closed his eyes. Opened them again.back in school. "Sorry Van, about your parents." They're dead.
Van sat up slowly and stared at the dead figure of Folken--Dune. Was this Dune's parting gift? Was it a dream.or a vision? He unhurriedly stood up and watched as the Black Dragon Guymelef slowly disappeared in green light identical to the times Escaflowne appeared/reappeared. Dune's body also vanished, and left was nothing but a small crater. Van heaved a huge sigh, well that was done.
Suddenly, behind him, he heard a great creaking and groaning behind him and swivled quickly as he remembered Escaflowne and Hitomi inside. He sprinted back to Escaflowne and watched in amazement as it changed from a guymelef into a dragon. He was even more amazed when he saw Hitomi standing atop the dragon, holding onto what looked like reins. She was back in her normal clothes.
"Jesus christ, I have a lot to learn about this fucking machine." Hitomi smiled down at him and called gently, "Want to go for a ride?" Van grinned back and hauled himself up behind Hitomi. Then, both standing, with Van clutching Hitomi tightly around her waist, they sped up into the blue sky.
After a few moments of silence Hitomi murmured, "You restored peace to Gaia Van, by killing Folken." Van sighed sadly as the wind whipped Hitomi's hair into his eyes and he replied, "We defeated the Black Dragons together, Hitomi. And together is how we should stay. But if we do, we need to sort out some extremely hard issues."
Hitomi shrugged and glanced back at him, "Like what?" Van kissed her on her nose and said, "Like why you can fly and I can't." Hitomi stared quizzically at him and then she laughed. "You want to fly, do you?" She broke away from him and stepped lightly onto Escaflowne's tail. Her wings fluffed out and rippled in the breeze. "Come on, Van.I'll teach you how to fly." She extended her hand for him.
He stared. If he was Fanelan, then how come he didn't have wings? Hitomi rose a bit off Escaflowne and smiled cryptically. Suddenly, Van felt an explosive pressure on his back and then he heard a ripping sound. "Have you ever heard of the Tsubasas no Kamis? Goddess and God of Wings. With our tsubasa, Van, we can fly." Van craned his neck to look behind him and gasped as he saw a broad set of snowy-white wings protruding from his back. He flexed his muscels and saw them flap up and down. He rose a bit off Escaflowne.
Hitomi took off and soared into the sky. She called, "You were never from Earth! And I was never from Gaia!" Van smiled at this comment and wondered how she knew.He forgot it and took off into the calm sky, following his Tsubasa no Kami.
"This is fucking awesome!" cried Van as he wheeled upside down high above Escaflowne. Hitomi nodded tiredly and Van swooped over to her, taking her in his arms, which was kind of awkward, seeing as they both had huge sets of wings. She nuzzled his neck and asked softly, "Van, can we take a rest?" Van smiled and nodded, then they both headed down to a convenient peaceful-looking meadow next to a lake, Escaflowne following duitfully.
Both circled and landed gracefully. Hitomi's wings disappeared almost instantly, but Van let his linger a bit. Hitomi walked towards him smiling and stroked one of his wings. He shivered as he felt it reflexively flick and smiled as she put her arms around his waist. As his wings got sucked into his back, he held her to him and asked, "Did you know all along that you weren't.from Gaia?" Hitomi rested her cheek against his chest and replied slowly, "No. I.I finally saw my past, and you saw yours. Just before or after, Folk-Dune, died."
Van closed his eyes and swallowed thickly. So she had seen. He offered something, "What I don't understand is how people couldn't tell you weren't the real queen.wouldn't they have known the royal family only had two sons, and no girls? I don't get that part." Hitomi didn't say anything but she shifted and looked up at him. He opened his eyes to stare down at her lovely green eyes.
Slowly smiling up at him, as tears filled her eyes, she whispered, "I think I made people believe I was the only remaining of the royal household. I mean, the entire castle was destroyed and everyone in it.the entire city was razed, with only a few dazed survivors.how could anyone remember clearly after such a horrible experience? And I forced myself to believe it too.At first, I had nightmares of being snatched from my bed and I couldn't see my parents' faces clearly. I would cry endlessly. I do remember an old beast woman taking me in and her son, Jajuka, cared for me as any father would. He told me I was found in the royal palace and how I was Fanela's last hope. I needed something to live for, Jajuka taught me that. So, it seemed the only reason I was living was to avenge my country."
She took a deep breath and looked off into the distance. A tear coursed down her cheek, but Van quickly wiped it away. Hitomi smiled at him.
"I would hear other people in the village talk of how I couldn't be the real heir to the throne. I forced them, I yelled, acted like I was royalty, later, after Jajuka trained me in swords I would challenge anyone who thought I wasn't queen, heir, whatever. Pretty soon, everyone forgot it and just believed in me. They needed someone to believe in. I was their last hope. That was my hope, too, that I wouldn't fail them. The rebels of Fanela, that we stayed with once, are the last remaining of the Fanelans. It's funny though, how much it hurt me to look at the rubble of the city, or to see some misplaced child in the forest who couldn't know the splendors of my country. For even though I had never lived there during Fanela's prime..I just knew the city had been beautiful. I wanted it back, I ached for it.I had no other purpose in life."
Hitomi paused again and glanced up, grinning, "Can we sit down, I kinda want to." Van nodded seriously and they sat down, Hitomi plucking at the grass between her legs and Van waiting for her to continue. Escaflowne sat patiently.
"Jajuka died around the time I turned sixteen. It was during a battle. We had been out hunting with a large group from our renegade village. It was at that time I realized I couldn't hide in the forest, waiting for the person who had destroyed my country to find me, I had to find them! I was determined, especially after Jajuka died.he was such a nice man. He made me cry, when he left, I cried without stopping, I threw up I cried so hard. I missed him so much."
She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly, letting the tears run freely. Van rubbed her back comfortingly and whispered, "It's ok.."
He hugged her as she said, "Thank you, Van, I don't know how I could never have had you.." She clung to him and sniffed loudly then murmured, "I have to finish my story." Van nodded.
"After he died.I went off alone, wth only my sword and the clothes on my back to avenge Jajuka, my country, and just to get out of there. We had been attacked because we had come to the outskirts of a warfield, and the Black Dragon Clan thought we were their enemies. They made me their enemy." She ended darkly as she pulled away slowly.
"A couple of days later, I intercepted some Dragonslayers on their way to Dilandau. I fought them, and thought I was winning, but then 2 others showed up and that's how I met Dilandau. He was young at that time too, as young as me.he was kinder too, if you can believe it. He offered a spot on the Dragonslayers for me but I defiantly declined. I challenged him to fight, if I won I could go free. He felt sorry for me, which I can't imagine either.he let me win.with the words I was going to repay him someday. I ran off. He doesn't lie.I did repay him..horribly--"
She broke off suddenly with a harsh sob and Van felt so angry and sad she had to experience what she did. He crushed her hand in his and whispered, "Hitomi.love." She sobbed loud and clear, letting all of her emotions out. Sitting on that warm grass with the one she loved and the large blue sky floating gently above them.
As Van let her cry, he ached to make her better and glanced up at the pale sailing clouds. Her hand loosened in his as she quieted but he raised it to his lips and gently kissed it. Her small, warm, brown hand fit pefectly in his. He raised his eyes to her teary ones and smiled half- heartedly. Hitomi smiled back at him through her tears and watched his eyes. He leaned toward her, almost shyly, and gently gave her the kiss of love.
The kiss were you know it doesn't have to be drawn out, messy, or passionate to understand the emotions and love coursing through the other's veins. You just know. It's ok to say "I love you," through that one kiss. Peace.
epilouge: they loved each other forever. Fill in your own ending, because I could never make one fitting for this awesome story. peace, love, & etc.
&end&
Thank all of you for being so supportive. I'm sorry this took so long, my computer suxor really a lot. Scike. I did make this a lemon story, but fanfic is deleting every thing so read it if you want, but I'm not oing to fix any of the mistakes I made cuz it's not worth it. So, whatever. tsubasa_no_kami@juno.com 3 caritas PS:check out www.lizzard.net/Escaflowne-Tsubasa No Kami Shrine-run by Mistress Lizzard! It rocks! Cya!