Dreams and Visions: Chapter 5
By mercy_angel_09
Rating PG-13
Disclaimers: I don't own Escaflowne and I'm certainly not making any money off of this venture, so it'd be sort of pointless to sue me. (Besides, I'm a poor college student; you'd lose more money than you'd gain.) The creative geniuses behind EscaFlowne are Hajime Yatate and Shoji Kawamori, Sunrise, Bandai, and I'm sure a few other companies that I'm forgetting or have no idea about.
~*~
~*Seventeen Years, Eight Months, Two Weeks and Four Days later*~
"Hey Mom!" Hikari called.
Hitomi looked up from the cake she was making and grinned. "There's the birthday girl!"
"What's that?" Hikari asked.
"Your birthday cake silly," Hitomi said. "What do you think?"
"What is it supposed to be?" Hikari asked.
"The moon, but so much for that. What do you say we go out on the town tonight?" Hitomi said. "There's a play in town that I really want to see."
"What play is that?"
"Love Among the Ruins," Hitomi said, holding up two tickets.
"Mom! You're the absolute best!" Hikari squealed as she wrapped her mom in a giant hug.
"Whoa, calm down!" Hitomi laughed. "So I did all right in the present department?"
"All right? Mom, you did great!"
"Well, you can't go to the theatre looking like that," Hitomi said, eyeing her daughter's school uniform. "This is a formal affair, and I think that you need a formal dress."
"What?"
Hitomi handed Hikari a box with a giant red bow on it. "Open it."
Hikari lifted the lid and gave a squeak of surprise. "Mom! It's gorgeous!"
"It should be your size," Hitomi said. "Go ahead, try it on."
Hikari dashed off to put it on and emerged moments later in a black gown. It was a square cut in front that went straight across her chest and then dipped down in a V cut in back. She turned a few times as Hitomi nodded in approval.
"I think that I did okay."
"Mom thanks a bunch!"
"Anything for you sweetie," Hitomi said, giving her daughter a hug.
Hikari ran off to find a mirror that she could examine herself in and Hitomi sighed. She had shoulder length black hair with large reddish brown eyes, a sure sign that she was Van's daughter. And not only was she an excellent track runner, she had a natural talent for the steel as well, proving her skills in Kendo and fencing.
'She's our little girl,' Hitomi thought. 'Now if only you could see her.'
~*~
Van sat back on his throne as his once trusted advisors stood in front of him. "I don't see why I should marry."
"We need an heir!" one of the advisors, Kito, said.
Van sighed and thought of the daughter that Hitomi had told him about. 'She looks so much like you,' Hitomi had said. But he hadn't told anyone, not even Merle, about Hikari. "Well, I guess that is a reason why."
"Please Lord Van, think of your country!" another advisor, Mataeus, boomed.
"Not so loud Mataeus," Van said, gingerly touching his ear.
"I'm sorry milord, but this is a matter of urgency," Mataeus replied.
"My Lord, there has been a pillar of light in the sky!" a guard said, running in.
"A what? Was it blue?" Van asked, standing suddenly.
"Yes milord. Do you think that it is Lady Hitomi?"
"Oh God I hope so!" Van said, running out of the throne room. "Does Allen know?"
"Sir Allen was the one who pointed it out to us sir," the guard answered.
"Then I'm sure he's on his way. No time to waste, where was it?"
"Behind the palace sire. In the spot where she left from," the guard replied.
"Right." Van ran like mad to the place where Escaflowne rested and the family had laid still for ages. "Hitomi, you've finally returned to me."
~*~
Hikari was lost and confused, but Hitomi knew right where she was. "Oh, the Escaflowne," she said, walking over to the giant Ispano Guymelf and touching it. "Sitting still doesn't suit it."
"Mom, what is that thing?"
"It's the Escaflowne."
"The what?"
"It's complicated. I knew that I would have to tell you about it someday, I just didn't know when," Hitomi sighed.
"You there!" a voice called.
Hitomi and Hikari turned to see a man with long blond hair running towards them. "Allen?"
"Hitomi, it is you!" Allen said as he wrapped Hitomi in a giant hug.
"Mom, do you know this guy?" Hikari asked, slightly freaked.
"This is Allen Schezar. He's a friend of mine," Hitomi said. Turning to Allen, she was prepared to ask the one question that she really wanted the answer to, but she didn't need to ask.
"He's coming, don't worry," Allen said.
"Allen, you look a little different. Your hair is-"
"Shorter than you remember? Ah, two years ago I turned forty and decided that I needed a change. No more trying to act twenty."
"So you're over the hill huh?"
"What?"
"Earth expression. Are you sure that he's coming?"
"Hitomi!"
She turned to see Van running at her. Before she could blink, he had her wrapped in his arms. "Van."
"I've been waiting for this day for so long," Van said.
"Van, there's someone I want you to meet," Hitomi said, breaking away from Van and pulling Hikari over to him.
Van took a moment to examine the girl. She looked at lot like him, but he could see that she was definitely Hitomi's daughter. "Hello Hikari."
"How did you know my name?" Hikari asked, slightly unnerved.
Van looked at Hitomi who nodded gravely. "She didn't tell you, did she?"
"Tell me what?"
"Lord Van!" Merle screamed.
"What? Is she a cat?" Hikari asked.
Merle ignored Hikari and focused on Van. "There's an emergency! One of the workers allowed his son to go up on the scaffolding and now it's starting to give way!"
"Where?" Van asked.
"Back at the palace! Near the shrine!"
Hikari looked to where Merle was pointing and could make out the faint figure of a child holding onto flimsy scaffolding. "I can catch him!"
"Hikari are you sure?"
"Mom, I'm the fastest runner on the track team! I think that I can make it! He's got a few minutes before it will really give way. Mom, I can do it!"
Hitomi nodded. "Go. Run like the wind."
Hikari took off, amazing everyone by running in her gown and flats. But eventually the shoes got in the way and she kicked them off. She kept her eye on the boy and noticed that the scaffolding was going to give way sooner than she had thought. 'If only I could fly!' she thought.
It was as she thought that when she sprouted wings and took off. Flying didn't seem unnatural to her, in fact, it was a comforting feeling, like she had been missing it her whole life and now she was complete. She flew towards the child and managed to snatch him mid-air and bring him down safely. "It's okay, you're safe now."
The boy looked at her with wide eyes. "Wow! Are you an angel?"
Hikari chuckled as she set him down. "I guess I am."
"Elegant catch," a deep voice said from behind.
Hikari turned to see a tall blond man standing behind her. He looked about twenty-five and had long blond hair and deep blue eyes. "I guess so."
"So, you're a Draconian, a descendant of Atlantis."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
The man chuckled as he walked over and gently reached past Hikari's face to stroke her wings. "These wings, only the Draconians have them."
"I'm still lost. And just who are you anyway?"
"I am Chid Freid, Duke of Freid."
"You're a what?"
"That's right a Duke. I was the prince of the Duchy until a few years ago. And who might you be? Or are you going to keep that a secret?"
"I don't see why you should know who I am."
"Fair enough."
"Hikari! Oh God Hikari!" Hitomi cried as she embraced her daughter.
"Mom, where did these come from?" Hikari asked as she spread out her wings.
Hitomi looked at the glorious white wings with tears in her eyes. "Perhaps you should ask Van."
Van nodded and removed his shirt. And then, without warning, sprouted wings. Hikari gasped and Hitomi let her tears flow freely. "I wanted to so much to tell you," Hitomi started, "but I didn't know how you'd take it, or what you would tell your friends. I found it so much easier to tell you that I had been artificially inseminated rather than the truth."
"So just what is the truth?" Hikari asked.
"Your real name is Hikari Fanel, princess of Fanelia."
By then the who's who of Fanelia had gathered around and there was a jolt of electricity running around the crowd.
"Van, did you know of the child?" Mataeus asked.
Van nodded. "I did."
"So that would be why you refused to marry," Kito mused.
"Of course. I wasn't about to deny my daughter her birth right."
"Naturally. Then I assume that you and Lady Hitomi will wed to make everything legal?" Mataeus asked.
Van and Hitomi started. "Uh, w-well," Hitomi stuttered.
"What's wrong Lady Hitomi?" Kito asked.
"I didn't think that I was coming her to marry Van, all though now that you mention it, it does sound like a good idea," Hitomi said. "But in all honesty, I don't know if I could live here, away from my family."
"Well it's absolutely out of the question to have Lord Van go to the Mystic Moon to live with you," Mataeus snapped.
"I wasn't planning that either. Things would have been much easier if we didn't have a child, but we do have one, one that knows absolutely nothing of her heritage," Hitomi sighed.
"A well meditated plan to keep her away from what's rightfully hers," Mataeus muttered. "Well we won't stand for it."
"Now that she's here, there's no keeping her away. It'll be her choice," Hitomi replied.
"What do you think Lord Van?" Kito asked. "Should the girl stay here and then send her mother away?"
"It's not fair to keep her and Hitomi apart. Since day one it's been the two of them. But I will find a solution to this, I promise. In the meantime, Hitomi will be staying with me and Hikari will have her own room as well," Van said. "I expect there are no objections to having Hitomi in the same room as me?"
"Of course not," Mataeus and Kito answered.
"Wait a minute!" Merle screamed. "Why can she sleep with you and I can't?"
"Merle, Hitomi is the mother of my daughter. There's a connection between us," Van answered, pulling Hitomi close to him. "And you'll have no problems with this, okay?"
Merle sighed and put her ears back in annoyance. "Fine, what ever you say Lord Van."
Van smiled at Merle and then turned his attention to Chid. "I'm sorry that you had to arrive on such a chaotic day. It's good to see you again Chid."
"Likewise Van. And I see that everyone is doing well. How are things with Lady Celena, Allen?"
Allen smiled. "She's doing okay."
"That's always good to hear. Have you been in touch with Aunt Millerna or Uncle Dryden?"
"Not really. Celena and I are the ambassadors to Fanelia from Asturia which means that we don't really deal with your aunt or uncle."
Hitomi watched the exchange with a twinge of pain. "Chid is the direct result of Millerna's sister, Princess Marlene, and myself giving ourselves into an illicit love affair. He's my illegitimate son." She sighed as she recalled his confession that his heart had made him tell. 'That was just before he asked me to marry him,' she thought. 'I wonder if he remembers that.'
"Wow he grew up fast," she said to Van.
"I could say the same about Hikari. You said that she looked like me, but you never said how much. Are you sure that she's your daughter?"
"I would say so. I clearly remember all twenty hours of the labor and then the delivery. And she's an excellent track runner. You saw how fast she ran this afternoon."
"I suppose you're right. Is it me, or does Chid seem to be paying attention to Hikari?"
Hitomi watched Chid for a moment, and noticed that his eyes kept wandering to Hikari who was looking around in awe, and not at Allen to whom he was speaking. "You're right. Do you think that he's fallen in love with her?"
"I have no idea. If he has, then we'll have to find an heir for our throne because she'd become the Duchess of Fried."
Hitomi chuckled. "You know Van, we're only thirty-six, it's not entirely impossible for me to have children."
"Are you suggesting what I think that you're suggesting?"
Hitomi's green eyes glittered like emeralds. "That's exactly what I'm suggesting. My father can't stand me and my mother would understand if I never came back. Well, I suppose that I would have to go back for a visit or two, but other than that, I think that I'd be fine."
"That's wonderful news Hitomi."
"I thought that you'd like it. I just hope that Hikari can adjust."
"I think that Gaea is a part of her, so she shouldn't have a problem. Besides, Chid has expressed an interest in her, and if that doesn't keep her around, I have no idea what will, all though Millerna and Dryden have a son a year older than her."
"Oh, so he went back to her?"
"After about a year or so. He had managed to build up his fortune again and then he decided that it was time to settle down and they renewed their vows. I was invited to the wedding, of course. Allen was there as well and he seemed to be indifferent to it."
"He was indifferent the first time too."
"I know. But I had thought that without you around, that he might have given into Millerna's affections."
Hitomi shook her head. "I doubt it. Allen's too level headed to fall into an illicit love affair with the next in line for the Asturian throne. King Aston doesn't like him already and that would make things worse."
"Why doesn't King Aston like him?"
"I'll explain it later."
"Oh. Well, shall we get you settled in?"
Hitomi leaned against Van. It felt so good to be in his arms again. "Myself and Hikari, right?"
"Of course. I wouldn't dream of leaving our daughter out here all night," Van chuckled as he kissed the top of Hitomi's head.
~*~
Okay, here's the reacap: Allen is forty, Van and Hitomi have a daughter named Hikari, Chid is now 25, the Duke of Fried and is expressing interest in Hikari, and Merle isn't happy about this at all. And I know that Allen and Celena were supposed to be the ambassadors for only a few months, but that got thrown out of the window for the sake of the plot. *evil grin* ^_^ I'm such a terrible person, I know. But wait, it gets even more complicated!
Mercy_angel_09
