Chapter 2

The Magician*

Diabolical Daydreams

~1 Year Later~

"LORD HIERO?! Where are you? This isn't funny anymore! Your father and mother wish to speak with you now!" a Fanelian samurai was shouting, dozen like him doing the same. The boy prince had run off again and hid from them, as the boy was prone to. Young Lord Hiero was a little ball of blue energy, giggling about something no one else knew about until something broke or blew up. He seemed to be addicted to making mischief, regardless of reprimands, but for one simple, yet silly reason. He would rather make trouble than waste his childhood being taught how to be a warrior king. He wanted to be a normal boy, not some pampered prince who'd never had a day of fun in his young life.

Even with his cute face and cheerful voice, the boy was a born troublemaker and was dogging his responsibilities for his future as the heir to the throne of Fanelia. He was a skillful fighter with daggers and swords already, but he didn't put much effort or gusto into as he should, or as his father said he should.

Lord Hiero had taken to hiding from everyone so he could play by himself, so he wouldn't 'waste' his day playing soldier like the good little snob his father wanted him to be. The boy was arrogant for his age, and sassy. He was an odd child, and had been more than once spanked for his behavior, giving in grudgingly to his father's humble requests for his son to act more responsible. His mother didn't like Hiero's childhood being turned into a training escapade, but she knew if Hiero didn't grow up in that sense, he would not be ready for the right of succession, his Dragon Slaying task.

What was more odd about young Lord Hiero was that he said he didn't approve of murdering dragons, which sent his father King Van is a rage. Hiero ran off laughing as his father went after him, but his mother got in between them when Hiero ran out of running room. Hiero was told to stay in his room all week, only to be let out for lessons, all for insulting his father. Hiero pouted, a stubborn look in his strange blue and green eyes, but that was it. He had Myrna to keep him company whenever he was sentenced to being locked in his room. He always treated the little cat girl like a sister, having her follow him around like a lovesick pet non-stop.

Hiero didn't seem to mind it, but if Myrna was around, Hiero was up to no good. Alone only meant he was up to something devious. He wasn't bratty, just had way too much energy in his small body. You wouldn't know what had just happened when a prank occurred until that flash of short blue hair would catch one's eye, then his childish giggles. Hiero was just living spitfire, always trying to have fun as much as possible, as if someday it would all be stolen from in a mere second.

Today was no different, except Hiero had already pulled a prank two weeks ago and was still being punished through room confinement. The case today was that he had gotten out of his room without going out the door. His father had gone in to collect Hiero for his morning lesson, but all he found was an empty room, and large white feathers. Everyone in Fanelia knew that King Van was a Draconian, able to sprout the wings of the cursed race at will, and apparently so could his only child. No body was found beneath the young prince's window, so they had to assume he had glided out the window to safety. The trouble was, no one could find him.

His cat-godparents Merle and Daisuke were away in Asturia collecting a gift for the young prince's up and coming seventh birthday party, so sniffing him out was nearly out of the question. Their daughter was too young and underdeveloped in using his sense of hearing and smell as skillfully as them, so she would be of no help unless she was close to wherever he was hiding.

The guards had searched all of Fanelia, since the young prince had gone out the window just to escape his training. The king and queen were also searching, mostly the garden where Hiero usually went to nap, swim, or play with Myrna and sections outside the castle that Hiero dug holes around to make "fishing ponds" for himself. He'd even made fake fish out of grass and tied up flower petals to make it all the more fun. Myrna found it pleasing, batting at the fake fish like they were her toys with her fingers.

They were back to searching the palace, hoping to find their young prince soon, or be faced with the grim possibility that the boy had fully run away this time and was far from Fanelia or in dragon's belly. The kid was very smart, but not that smart as to outrun a hungry dragon, he'd suffer less with such a fate rather than be captured by Zaibach and tortured.

King Van! King Van! I found Lord Hiwo!!" Myrna's chirpy little voice rang out through the halls suddenly, the little cat-girl appearing suddenly from around the corner and the king and queen trailing behind him at top speed. They raced past the group of guards and zoomed up a nearby stairway. The guards just stood dumbstruck for a moment, then ran up after them.

~

'Why does he have to be so difficult. I had to be trained since childhood and I turned out fine….when Hitomi came. He'll find someone like that someday, he's got to learn patience. Balgus may not be the sword master training our son, but this man cares just as much about his well being as Balgus did mine. Why is Hiero so hot-headed, so uncaring about his royal responsibilities?" Van thought painfully.

His son had been the light of his life, the only child he and Hitomi had conceived thu8s far, but he was still the most glorious thing to come into his life. He was a fatter now, he had an heir that was most angelic and beautiful looking child ever. Then came the part where Hiero was able to walk and talk, and things got complicated. Hiero loved to have fun, just like Myrna did once she was able to walk, but there was no one he could play with other than the samurai, Hitomi and himself before Merle and Daisuke had Myrna. Hiero had taken to playing by himself and getting childish revenge on them all by not wanting to train.

Even when Hiero did train, he'd show excellent skill and prowess, obviously paying attention to his lessons, but not showing any spirit towards it. He would leave a session without telling his sword master and send the poor man on a wild goose chase to find him. Hiero was almost always in the kitchen stealing sweets or playing with Myrna in the garden, sticking his tongue out and making faces at the sword master when he was ordered to return to his lessons. Van and Hitomi had to punish him for being so disobedient and inconsiderate to a seasoned warrior, by spanking him mostly. Mouthing off and pranks were rewarded with being confined to his room. Van hated doing that to his son, but if it would teach his son a lesson about manners as it with Hitomi and her brother on the Mystic Moon, it was a necessary evil in parenting.

He was glad Myrna was part of the search, as she knew Hiero's scent well. She was always sneaking out of her room to sleep beside him. It was unbecoming of a young lady, even Merle had said so, but no matter what they told Myrna, she was always found waking up on his stomach or beside his sleeping form. It reminded Van of himself and Merle growing up, Merle always close by and watching over him like an overprotective sister. Hiero didn't seem to mind much, boisterously playing with his little cat sister since she was the only one close to his age to play with.

Hiero even had a cute little nickname for her, one only Hitomi was able to understand. It was in Japanese, Hitomi's native speech. He called her Pinku-Chiisai, it meant 'Little Pink,' just what Myrna was, a lovely pink sheen of silky hair and small enough for Hiero to hold up like a doll. She wouldn't be like that forever, but she seemed to love the name, it made her feel all the more closer to the rowdy little prince, she even had a nickname for him, Safaia-Kimi, or Prince Sapphire. It was cute in its own way, and the fact that Hitomi had taught Myrna to say it by request, so she could have a nice nickname for Hiero as he did for her in the same strange language.

Those two were always causing some sort of mischief together or playing some silly game only they understood, but when Hiero was alone, sometimes, Van worried. Hiero was so quiet and distant, staring at nothing when they find him or he'd be sleeping in the most dangerous places like in the guymelef training ground, outside the palace gates, on a tree limb and sometimes on the rooftops of the kingdom. Today was a new spot, and Hiero seemed to be running out of spots to hide in. According to Myrna, she saw him lying atop the tallest tower of the castle, just sleeping there quietly and curled up in a feather blanket.

'His own wings, I don't think he's ever shown his wings to anyone till now….perhaps he can't retract them, he panicked when he grew them and flew outside out of fear. He probably hasn't thought to think them away. I never thought he'd grow wings like Folken and I did, but our Draconian blood must be dominant in most respects.' He mused, the light of day greeting his reddish-brown eyes as he and Hitomi followed little Myrna to the balcony of the tower.

When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the most adorable sight curled up in the center of the balcony. There was young Hiero, his long and sharp sapphire bangs blowing gently in the breeze, a few loose strange of the rest of his hair shuffling against his head. His hair was much like Hitomi's, cropped close to his head and with silken sheen that dazzled the eye.

What was most beautiful about Hiero's sleeping form were the dozen of sleeping white doves nuzzled up around him, some balancing on Hiero's Draconian wings. He hadn't been able to pull them back in after all, and had them in a sort of ethereal canopy over his body. They twitched suddenly, as if something had spooked him, but it subsided as soon as it had started. The birds barely stirred, cooing along with Hiero small and delicate breathing. His only pillow was made of his hands crossed over each other under his angelic head, his pristine face and slim dark lashes flittering a bit in the sunlight.

He wore a tunic similar to the ones Van wore as a boy, but it was black. Hiero seemed to love that color. He even had his little boots fashioned from black leather. The only thing that wasn't black were his tan pants, ones that hugged his slight form preciously. He was the picture of perfection, calm and serene.

The moment was so tranquil and perfect that even Van felt poor about waking the boy up. He'd never seen his son so at peace. Still, that didn't stop Myrna from racing at the birds, chasing them away and ramming herself into Hiero stomach. The little eyes flew open, the initially stunned green and blue eyes whipping open as the wind was knocked out of Hiero's body. They rolled right into the end of the balcony with Myrna happily chanting," Lord Hiwo! Lord Hiwo! My Safaia-Kimi!"

Once they stopped moving and Myrna had taken to licking Hiero's face to death, his face scrunched up, his wings frantically flapping about as he tried to block the affectionate attack. "Ack! Pinku-Chiisai! Stop….that tickles!" Hiero pleaded, giggling as Myrna went on licking his pale cheeks.

Van and Hitomi sighed at the display, but were unable to withhold their smiles. It was too cute for words, even if it all started with Hiero being disobedient. Finally Hiero got rough and shoved Myrna off and whapped her with his right wing, looking defiant. "Myrna! Quit it! I'm too grown to be licked. You're giving me girl germs!" he pouted.

Myrna just giggled and nuzzled against his lap. His hardened face instantly softened and he picked her up, ruffling her hair. He winced suddenly, one of his wings twitched. "Oweee….dumb growths….This is what I get for trying to climb to the next window." He whined, rubbing his suddenly tearful eyes with the back of his free hand.

Van suddenly remembered himself at those words, and approached his son and the little cat girl with his head held high. "Hiero, you tried to ditch your training again, and you left your room without permission. You're in a lot of trouble young man." He said crisply.

Hiero winced again, his little white wings fluttering on his back. Van frowned, more at himself than Hiero's lack of answers. He knelt down and picked up his son and the cat girl in his arms, hearing Hitomi's faint footsteps behind him. "They are not mere growths, my son. They are your ancient heritage, you and I are the last of the Draconian race, the winged race. Just think them away, Hiero, think them away." Van coaxed. Hiero blinked a little, taking these words in gently. He then held his breath and shut his eyes, a small blue vein fluxing on his forehead. The little wings vanished in a puff of feathers, then Hiero's face was peaceful again.

"You have wings, Father?" Hiero asked him, hitting Van's eyes dead on with his own curious ones. Van nodded, and to prove it, he gritted his teeth and forced his own wings out, then wrapped them about his son and Myrna. It tore up his red shirt, bruised a bit by his shoulder armor, but they were large and beautiful, snow-white and with a perfect silken sheen about each feather.

Hiero's mouth opened much a baby bird's, his little double colored eyes glittering with sudden pride and wonderment. Both he and Myrna were wearing the same expression, but Myrna got over her awe quickly and went back to nuzzling Hiero. The young prince was stunned a little longer, then scowled.

"You could have warned me….Father!" Hiero snapped, his little eyes narrowing with distaste. Van just pulled his wings back in and kept his face calm and serious. "Don't change the subject, young man. You're ditched your lessons again. I might as well have your room turned into your training room, you're going to spending another week in there….for this stunt."

"What about my party? You said I could have a birthday party with your friends from Asturia this year. You promised!" Hiero screeched, tears filling his double colored eyes.

Van couldn't stand his son crying, it always melted him and Hiero knew it. He was just trying to make him feel guilty. He had promised, but Hiero had done nothing but cause trouble even after the deal was made. Van stiffened his expression and was about to say Hiero wouldn't get a party this year for being so bad, but Hitomi's voice cut him off.

"Van, we did promise, besides, it's only a few hours and then he goes right to bed. No more fun after that. The Schezars are good friends of our, Hiero. It would have been a total waste for everyone if we cancel the party, Allen and Millerna are already on their way and Merle and Daisuke should nearly be back from Asturia with his present. Come on Van, you can ground him all you want after this. He's got another year to wait to be eight, if he survives that long. The little scamp," she let out with a sinister smile, ruffling Hiero's sapphire hair, making him sputter and scrunch his face up," He's too cute to have tears in his eyes. Let him be a child, Van, he'll go crazy if you try to make him a man now."

Van smirked at her words, not happy she was spoiling Hiero again. Always the voice of reason, always the one Hiero would run to, the one he admired. When Hiero looked at Van, there was always resentment and mischief in the child's eyes, as if he knew something Van didn't. 'That's silly, little kids aren't aware of anything, not at this age. All six-year-olds think about is candy and games, most of them anyway. I didn't get that as much I would have liked.' He thought, sighing inwardly as he carried his son and Myrna off the balcony and back inside the castle.

"Fine, but this is the last time, young man. No more crap from you. Zaibach has attacked this country ever since you were born, we're they no longer have stealth cloaks or our samurai would be sitting ducks. You had best train more diligently, if not for our sake, for yours and Myrna's, at least," Van told Hiero lightly, feeling his son nod against him rather slowly," But for now, you're going to be confined to your room. Myrna, you make sure he doesn't leave. I mean it, or I'll tell you mother you helped him cause trouble again."

Myrna shrank against Hiero's chest, and van watched at his son scowled at him again and then hugged Myrna. "Don't listen, Pinku-Chiisai, he's just a big ole meanie grouch. He doesn't like fun….only fun with Mother like the samurai said." Hiero spouted crassly. Van's eyes bulged at what the boy said, not knowing whether to spank him right there and then or drop him and attack his samurai.

"Who told you that, Hiero?" Van asked sternly. The boy had his eyes shut, still hugging his little cat-girl protectively. "Uncle Daisuke and Auntie Merle were talking with a few a few weeks ago. They like to talk 'bout you and Mother lots." Hiero let out calmly.

Van just sputtered and looked back at his wife, who was now a fine shade of red. "Why that little….lousy cat. We're going to have words when she gets back." Hitomi huffed out. Van nodded. 'Word indeed.' He thought.

~ Hiero's Chambers ~

Hiero watched with mock amusement as Myrna bounced up and down on his bed, blushing a few times when he saw her white panties one a few high bounces. He went to looking straight ahead after that, fishing his hands in his shirt for something. His mother and father had left as quickly as they had entered his bedroom to drop him and Myrna off, probably to do some King and Queen stuff, or contemplate on his slight fib. He'd been very angry at his father for treating him like a weak little child. True, it was the body he was in, but with an ancient mind with far more experience with all types of swordplay, this training crap was damned boring for him.

To actually use his wings this day had been a complete accident. He had scaled the walls a few times to the room beside him, mother and father's room, hid under their bed and waited for them to leave so he could make his escape for the kitchen or the garden, whatever he wanted first. The kitchen was to steal the cinnamon bars and chocolate drops the cook always made, normally for her fat self. Hiero decided that he deserved them more than her, cause he hadn't had a decent piece of candy since that sweet shop in Saillune. It was one that had atomized like everything else during the last moments of that world, he and Val had pigged out there fifty years before they made their escape to Gaia.

This world wasn't so bad, it had his favorite creatures roaming about it as the dominant species, the great dragons. The wars that spurted up like forest fires were interesting to hear about, though he was growing rather bored being confined to a stuffy old palace all the time. His new father, Van, had said he needed to be protected from Zaibach, and empire that had exceptionally larger dragons milling about the mountainous region. Hiero, still being a child, needed to be protected since he was the sole heir to the throne of Fanelia. Hiero still didn't like the idea of being reborn as a prince. It was just as terrible as being near a member of a royal family, to feel the bar of this prison of privilege closing in on him.

He remembered all the princes and princesses with their snooty attitudes, as children and growing up, only a few becoming exceptions because they discovered they were prisoners of their royal blood after all, bound to royal marriages, law, etiquette, and above all, responsible for all the people of their kingdom. Hiero hated being that responsible, hated to see people suffer for something that no one person could take and retain their sanity.

'Lucky me, I'm already insane….this can only drive me to become a psychopath….I wish I knew where Val was….he could always cheer me up. I hope…he's still here, but until then…might as well put on a stiff upper lip and stomach this. When I'm 19, I'll be taking my dragon slaying task, thanks to Mother's wonderful prodding for father to wait until I am mature and strong enough. Aside from that, being stuck in a fifteen year old body wouldn't be very pleasant….if that thing manages to kill me before I kill it. Why it has to be a dragon, I like dragons, even nasty and hungry ones. They're just animals….murdering them is a silly way to prove anyone is worthy of being a king. Maybe to prove I'm a worthy soldier, sure, but a king, that's lunacy. Val would vomit if he knew what I have to do, if he's even on this world.' Hiero thought with disdain, then his thoughts were silenced when he found the bed wasn't moving anymore.

He looked up a bit to see Myrna's sweet pink eyes staring at his chest curiously. He smirked, remembering what he'd flown out of his window for. He smiled then and pulled out a deck of cards, his mother tarot cards. In her memories, she had been able to predict the future and know the past by using them. He was very curious about them and what they could do for him. They seemed so neat to him, simple pieces of painted paper that could tell one their fortune. Even if the concept was a little hokey, it sounded like a fun thing to play with.

"Ooo, pretty, Lord Hiwo, what are they?" Myrna chirped, her pink eyes sparkling with curiosity. Hiero grinned at her and showed her the blue backed cards. "They're Tarot cards, they can tell you your fortune, according to my Mother. Want to play Fortune Teller with them, Pinku-Chiisai? Huh? Huh?" Hiero said, with true childish enthusiasm.

Myrna's eye little eye brighter and she nodded rapidly with a Cheshire smile. 'So like a cat….heh. My little sister, the cat-girl.' He thought fondly.

After a bit of straightening the sheets and calming Myrna down, Hiero arranged the cards in accordance to his mother's memories. "Now, who's fortune shall I read? Yours? Mine? Mother or Father?" he asked her. She scrunched her nose up a little, deep in thought, then snapped her little tan fingers. "Mama, my Mama, read her, Lord Hiwo. She is always wowwying about the future." She let out happily, getting giddy again. He chuckled a bit and nodded.

The reading went well, but Hiero was startled at how accurately he felt it was. He'd never delved into his Aunt Merle's mind at all, he felt in-human's such as her weren't so important, not in this world anyway, that and she was far too energetic for a mother in her early twenties. Sometimes he thought it was a cat-person thing to be so full of energy and cheerfulness, not to mention annoying his own mother to beat all. She was at least three years younger than his parents were, which didn't say much to others about her nature, but he liked her.

Aunt Merle was always nice to him, taking him horseback riding, singing to him when he was barely two, and making him delicious birthday treats each year. Some of them turned out to be raw bugs she found delicious and strange parts of animals most people would find unsettling, but he loves it. He was not one to talk about strange foods, he'd eaten raw animal, goblin, squirrel, grubs, and even a wide assortment of animal parts he had to bet evenly no one on Gaia would touch without vomiting or fainting. He'd been used to living on his own, surviving on whatever he could find.

He'd been utterly desperate one time as to fight with an owlbear by using his own mouth to try and tear a dying rat from its great beak. 'Those were the days….I'm glad are over, then again, rat isn't so bad. Tastes like mutton, really. Aunt Merle could have been a wonderful chef with all her food genius.' He thought, pleased with how entranced he had Myrna in the reading. He lifted up the ninth card, his eyes narrowing at it a little sternly. He felt an image pour through his senses, his aunt and uncle drinking near a stream, Uncle Daisuke heading for a cave. The cat-man was as energetic as his young wife, kissing her passionately before running into the cave, making a suggestive char-grin after he gave her a wave and shouted something Hiero couldn't hear.

Aunt Merle was licking her lips, and then Hiero could see more of the place. Aunt Merle had taken him to play boats in this area on occasion, it wasn't far from Fanelia, a few miles at best. Then it faded, leaving Merle alone in darkness.

Hiero felt his heart flutter as it all left him, a curious and nervous looking Myrna staring at him. "What's wong, Lord Hiwo? What's the card?" she asked.

He had forgotten about the card all that time. He had been so lost in that daydream, or was it a vision. He dismissed that quickly, he never had visions wide-awake, it was impossible. He hadn't had a single vision since he'd been born, unlike the last two worlds he'd been on. Hiero shrugged off the sudden chilly feeling that was forming in his stomach and looked at the card, placing it down slowly.

"The Tower….not reversed, so in your mother life…."he was saying, then his voice drifted in and out of his senses, as if he was being told what to say," She will be separated from a loved one for a long time, it is her greatest fear to be all alone. The flames of her past that surrounded her as a child, the flames…..the flames of Fanelia, thinking she lost my father to death, she hates being alone. It is….her greatest fear of all. Uh, the final card will say why…."

Hiero gulped nervously, he felt so cold, like he was dead. He knew the feeling well, as your life slowly slipped away, the dread and cold fear in the back of your mind. He also felt a pain in his chest, and his legs, like thick swords were prodding him. He pushed it away, or tried to, the feeling wouldn't go away making his hand shake as he picked up the last card, turning it over on the bed so he and Myrna could see Merle destiny.

Hiero's throat closed up, his eyes widening fearfully. He felt deeply afraid, as if his life were in danger. "The….the Death card…." he sputtered out, his hand still holding the card down. Nothingness took him as the card came alive and swirled about him in a storm of lavender fury, the scythe driving down into his chest. "NO!" he screamed, but he couldn't see anything but Death and the darkness, Myrna was gone, the room was gone.

He shut his eyes to block out the hallucination, it was all he could call it. The deep-rooted fear within his body was too paralyzing to give him the strength to run. "I'm over 50,000 years old, why do I feel so scared? I feel fear when I am about to die….sure, but this is….Oh Gods, no! Aunt Merle! Uncle Daisuke!" he shouted, finding himself standing inside the cavern, everything in black and white, color leaking in and out of his sights like so much blood.

As the colors finally came back in, he could see them, standing there in the center of the cave cowering in fear. He saw why as the shadows came alive in the forms of two Zaibach guymelefs, the dreaded Alseides models. Hiero tried to run at them, to help them, but he ran right through them, as if they were dead air. He looked back frantically as the guymelefs shot out the silver Crima claws, impaling his godparents instantly. Hiero cringed when the blood hit him, the hot and sticky fluids drenching him in their gore. 'The future, Merle and Daisuke are in danger! My Mother….I have her gifts, gods no! Not this…being tormented at night was too much already, but not daymares! Argh! No, wake up, wake me up! Somebody please!! I have to save them!" he shouted, but no one was answering, only the guymelefs seemed to hear him after they tore his godparents apart in a hail of sinew and blood soaked fur.

His eyes widened as the claws fired at him, hope dying away like a candle in the wind in seconds flat. "I'll be a kid forever now! Shit!" he yelled, then felt someone slap him.

"Watch your language, young man. How dare you steal my cards, Hiero! Why did you go through Mommy's drawers?" said a familiar and very irate voice. "Mother?" he said, his vision vanishing swiftly to be replaced by her angry face, tears streaming down her red cheeks.

She stood upright and crossed her arms over her chest. He waited a moment, then recalled what he had just seen. In an instant, he leapt off the bed and ran out the door, screaming," They're going to die! I have to save them!"

He didn't care how anyone reacted to that, he just knew he had to reach Uncle Daisuke and Aunt Merle soon or they'd be ripped apart like rag dolls. He wasted no time and no efforts in dealing with anyone he plowed under and past, running as fast as his small legs could carry him to the stables.

~

Merle lapped up a good helping of the delicious stream water, her eyes greedily watching a plump trout swim by. She watched it for a while until it flipped out of the water, then went to grab for it, but it slipped right through her fingers and splashed a mess of cold water into her face. "Oh, you're not worth the trouble. Stupid fish." She grumbled, then yelped when someone pinched her butt.

"Oh, Daisuke, you little perv," she hissed playfully at her husband, delighting in the mischievous look in his pink eyes. She loved him so much, maybe not the same way she Lord Van, but Daisuke returned that love and gave her a beautiful daughter. His hormones were a little escalated when he was around her, but its not like she minded it at all. He was sweet and loving and meant the world to her. She wasn't alone now, she had a love, and a family.

"I know I am. So what's say you and me get perverted in that cave over there and make Myrna a sibling, nice and slow. We've got another day before little Hiero's birthday party. A day of unbridled passion and horny moaning will do us some good after all that sweaty walking, hmm, my love?" Daisuke teased, his platinum blonde hair shimmering a bit over his pale white fur. He was still charmer, all be it how much he loved making love and nothing else with her.

He was handsome enough for it, but his heart was sincere, even if he loved to tease Merle all the time about how cute she was. Being male, he didn't wearing the yellow leotard Merle had taken to wearing now that she was older and more endowed. He wore a silver vest and black pants, but they both wore brown sandals, letting their feline toes breath. She still wore her nail file around her neck along with her wedding ring of gold, but Daisuke only wore his wedding ring as jewelry, his shirt and shaggy platinum blonde hair brighter than even the most expensive jewelry.

He was still smiling at her, then kissed her suddenly with immense passion. He pulled back slowly, a satisfied smirk on his face, then raised his eyebrows up suggestively.

"I'll be waiting, my little pussy cat." He purred, licking her face gently before running off for the cave. He looked back a moment, smiled from ear to ear, letting his ears twitch sweetly, then waved at her. "I love you, Merle. Hurry, my sweet." He shouted, then went into the cave, his platinum beauty vanishing into the dark mouth of the cave.

Merle licked her lips hungrily as she stood and started to run for the cave.

"AUNT MERLE!"

She stopped in mid-stride as the scream reached her sensitive ears. She knew this voice, as distant as it was, it was a voice she knew well. It was Prince Hiero's adorable voice, but he didn't sound very happy. He sounded scared to death. As far away as she gathered he was, she could smell the fear wafting off of his form, sweat and tears soaking his skin. 'What on Gaia?' she thought faintly, jumping slightly as a carrying the little sapphire-haired prince on its back.

She was about to greet him when she saw his face and she knew how right her senses had been. His face was frantic, fatigue covering every innocent inch. He was drenched in fresh sweat, a few bruises lacing his scarred hands and one on his cheek, possibly from whipping the reigns too hard and hitting himself in the face.

"Aunt Merle….please, where's Uncle Daisuke….Zaibach, they'll ….gasp, I saw them kill you. Please, tell him to come…so….gag we can get to safety. Please" the prince was panting, not making a bit of sense. She registered 'Zaibach,' which made her fur crawl, then 'I saw them kill you.'

'Hitomi used to say stuff like that with her weirdo powers….oh, could he have her powers now.. If that's true….DAISUKE!' he mind screamed, her mouth opening to scream out his name, but Hiero's expression stopped her. Previously looking tired and beat, Hiero's face was stark white, eyes wide with fright and his mouth trembling, just like Hitomi had looked when she said she had to save Van. It had been when Dilandau and Folken captured Lord Van, and Dilandau had tried to murder Van.

"Oh no!" she yelped, trying to make him stop, but Hiero was stuck She got on the horse quickly as he started muttering something, spurring it on so they could speed in and rescue Daisuke.

They were nearly there when the boy screamed. "NO! STOP IT!! I haven't done anything….!! NO!! Zaibach bastards! MERLE! Run for your life, run away please! ARGHHHHHHH!!" Hiero screamed, then moments later, Merle heard the exact same worse repeated, in Daisuke's voice, garbled terrible with a bubbly scream.

"NO! STOP IT!! I haven't done anything….!! NO!! Zaibach bastards! MERLE! Run for your life, run away please! ARGHHHHHHH!!" Daisuke's dying voice rang out, and Merle's heart broke in two. She felt Hiero slump against her, thrashing in a living nightmare, his small eyes tightly shut in pain. "No….run, Merle please, I love you, please, save yourself, take care of our…little angel, live, for her. Live!" the boy was muttering, so faintly she thought he was whispering.

Merle didn't wait another second and she spurred the horse away from the cave and towards Fanelia. After going a mile or so, she heard a loud crashing erupting behind her. She felt Hiero grab onto her waist, looking behind them and breathing fast.

"I see them….I see them….they're shooting, JUMP NOW! He yelled rapidly. Merle didn't bother to question him and leapt off the horse with Hiero clinging to her. She faintly heard the horse yelp in surprise, its blood licking at her heels as the unseen enemy ripped through its body. She looked back briefly to see nothing, no enemy, but she could hear them. 'Stealth cloaks again. Oh no! I can't let them gets us….Lord Hiero is all Lord van has. I can't fail him!' she thought frantically, taking off at top speed on her feet for Fanelia, yelling and screaming for help.

If the samurai heard her, they'd be here in no time flat and hold off the Zaibach murderers, the bastards that killed her husband, her beautiful and loving husband. Poor little Hiero has seen it all in his head, all the pain and suffering of her husband's last moments. It made her feel so guilty. 'To think, I always made fun of Hitomi for trying to scare with her visions….when all this time she was more scared than. Hiero must be scared to death right now, no child should have to see such horrors, hell, no one should.' She thought, running faster.

She could barely see the great mountain passage to Fanelia as she burst out of the forest, her legs carrying her as fast as she could across the sun drenched plains. The Zaibach creeps were still coming, claws just barely missing her backside as she'd leap away from them. Merle grinned, holding onto the young prince tightly as she got closer and closer to the mountain path.

Her hopes were dashed as a rush of air shoved her backwards on her ass, Hiero yelping when they landed. The air before them rippled strangely, then became a cloaked Zaibach guymelef. It stood proud and tall over them, its liquid metal weapon forming into a snapping three pronged claw. It reached for them, clinking its claws together menacingly. Merle tried to scoot away, but Hiero was looking behind her now, pointing with wide eyes above her. She didn't bother looking behind herself, the other guymelef had to be behind. The gods knew only how many has been waiting into hat cave for her and Daisuke. Just what they wanted was not clear to her, but she gathered she was of no use to Zaibach, except maybe to be altered into a Fortune Enhanced Soldier like the dead cat twins. 'Fat chance…I'll go down fighting for Lord Hiero. He doesn't understand all this, he's just a boy.' She thought harshly and hissed at the guymelef.

The man within the machine laughed at her wickedly, making all the hairs on her body stand on end. "Hand over the boy, pussy cat, and we might let you live." He said. Merle felt dead inside. It was all a trick, they wanted Hiero, to trade her life for Hiero's. Why?

Hiero spat at the guymelef. The man within it hissed at him and swore. "Dirty brat, who cares why Folken wants you….alive is all he asked. She doesn't have to live, maybe if you'd shown some manners, we might have spared her….might. Yorn, grab the boy, then let's make a cat's cradle out of this little whore intestines." The man cackled, his gruff voice being joined by the girly laughter of his comrade.

"Let's Toma, like we did to her husband. Let's get this mission over with." The other man replied, turning his liquid metal weapon into a silver hand and reached down for them.

"NO!" a voice screamed, and Merle's heart leapt along with Hiero's sad expression. "LORD VAN!" she chirped, finally picking herself up and running away with the boy as Escaflowne rammed its sword through Toma's guymelef. Toma screamed as blood mixed with the liquid metal spurted out of the guymelef's chest, Escaflowne ramming it mercilessly into the ground.

Yorn backed up, looking from the blood soaked armor of Escaflowne to the prey Lord Folken had send him after. "Die, King of Fanelia!" Yorn shouted, deciding that killing Folken's greatest obstacle from the last war would gain favor with the Draconian man when he returned, with or without the little prince.

Escaflowne stood rigged in its fighting stance as Yorn went invisible. He knew he'd win, there was no way the king could see him without his Mystic Moon bitch wife around. Yorn quietly crept around Escaflowne to its right, his fingers dancing across the controls excitedly, preparing to fire Crima Claw right through the king's soft brains. This would be an easy kill, King van being too angry about their attack on his son than anything else.

"He's to your right, Father! YOU RIGHT!" the boy prince shouted, startling Yorn for a moment, which was one moment too many. Yorn had no time to react as Escaflowne turned to face him and rammed its blade through his head, Yorn's last thoughts being if his quick death.

~ Fanelia Castle ~

- Throne Room -

"You're sure Merle, they wanted Hiero specifically?" Van asked the cat-woman. She nodded, tears still streaming down her face as she looked up at Van sitting on his throne, Hitomi by his side. She was holding a peacefully sleeping Hiero in her arms, rubbing his angelic head gently to keep him in sleep.

"Yes….but, its not just that. Hiero has Queen Hitomi's gifts….I saw it myself and Myrna told me Hiero ran out screaming that someone was going to be killed, right after he did a Tarot Card reading on me. It can't be a coincidence, he's psychic like you Queen Hitomi….and he saw….he saw….Daisuke, Oh Gods, he saw my husband torn apart. He's just a boy…and he saw all that. He tried to save us, to change fate, and he saved me. Oh…." Merle let out, suddenly bursting into tears as she remembered the horrified look on the boy's face, so desperate, yet she saw blame in his eyes. It was as if he blamed himself for Daisuke's death.

She couldn't stop crying, even as she felt Van embrace her, patting her back. "He saved you, that's right. He loved you both. This will be hard for him to bear, so we must make sure to protect him," he said quietly, his voice struggling a bit with the scare he'd been given today," I will have the samurai retrieve your husband's body, and I want you to remain in the palace. I won't lose anyone else dear to me. Never again….it's all right for you to cry Merle, Daisuke was a good man, he will be desperately missed by us all, especially you and your daughter. No one could have asked for a better man to be your husband and her father."

Merle smiled tearfully at him, his reddish-brown eyes gently shining at her with concern. "Yes, Lord Van, but if I may be excused. I would like to….mourn in the shrine. I need some time alone, please." She whimpered, and he nodded, letting her go. She ran out quickly, her sorrow pouring out once more.

'We will protect the children, Hiero and Myrna, they are the future….for Daisuke, we will prevail….I hope and pray we will.' She thought as she ran out of the palace still in tears.

To Be Continued….

* The Magician card here represents Hiero coming to terms with his enhanced psychic abilities and trying to use them as best he can, as well as becoming utterly committed to try and protect his new family as best he can.