Dreams and Visions: Chapter 7

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.

~*~

            "Hitomi, is that really you?"

            Hitomi nodded and then was embraced by Millerna.  "Agh!  Millerna . . . I can't breathe!"

            Millerna blushed and let go of Hitomi.  "Pardon my perkiness."

            Dryden chuckled.  "It's nice to see you again Hitomi.  I take it that you and Van are getting married."

            Hitomi smiled.  "Yeah.  Finally."

            "It's only taken you two, what?  Twenty-one years?" Millerna asked.

            "Twenty-one years too long," Van sighed.  "So, did you bring the kids?"

            "Kaiden and Eliana are being shown to their rooms," Dryden answered.

            Hitomi's eyebrows shot up.  "You have two children?"

            Millerna nodded.  "Kaiden is eighteen and Eliana is sixteen."

            "Oh, so a year older and a year younger than Hikari," Hitomi mused.

            "Who?" Millerna asked.

            "Our daughter," Van answered.  "And please don't ask, it's complicated."

            Dryden let out a low whistle.  "I wouldn't doubt it."

            At that moment, Allen came running in.  "Uh, we have a slight problem."

            "Allen!" Millerna said.

            "Millerna.  Uh, back to the matters at hand, it seems as though Prince Kaiden and Princess Hikari have met.  And under some of the most unusual circumstances," Allen said.

            "How unusual?" Van asked.

            Allen sighed.  "Perhaps you should come see for yourself."

~*~

            The boredom was killing her.  Putting on the brown pants and the red shirt, she had grabbed a sword from the practice room and had headed out to the courtyard.  She then went through the kendo motions followed by her fencing motions.

            "Well, what's this, a newbie?" a haughty voice asked.

            "I'm not new," she growled as she returned to her kendo routine.

            "Sure you are.  I haven't seen you before."

            "I'm sure there are a lot of things you haven't seen before."

            "Don't speak to me like that peasant."

            "I can speak how ever I want."

            "Fine, we'll settle this like men."

            At first Hikari was confused, but then she realized that women didn't use swords on Gaea and with her hair pulled back and the fact that she was wearing boy's clothes didn't help the gender issue.  But she figured that she could use this to her advantage.  'If he thinks that I'm a boy then he'll give me a real fight.'

            "Well, are you going to fight me?"  He had dropped his cloak and was standing in front of her, posed for attack.  He had deep green eyes and wavy light brown hair.  He looked to be about eighteen years old and had the physique of a natural fighter.

            "Of course I'll fight you.  Bring it on."

            He attacked and she defended.  He was fast, but she was faster, and found that by combining fencing and kendo techniques, she was able to defeat him easily.  She had pinned him to the ground, her sword at his throat.

            "You surprised me.  I didn't think that a weakling such as your self could fight as well as that," he panted as he looked up her sword.

            "I'm just full of surprises."

            "And what are those?" he asked casually.

            "Hikari!" Hitomi yelled.

            Hikari looked up, as did Kaiden.  "Who is that?"

            "My mother."

            "Hikari, what's going on?"

            "He started it."

            "I don't know what you're talking about.  I could have you hanged for this you know."

            Hikari returned to her gaze to the man on the ground.  "I wouldn't be so sure," she growled at him.

            "And why is that?"

            "My other surprise is that my name is Hikari Fanel, princess of Fanelia."

            "You're a woman!?" Kaiden yelped.

            "What were you expecting?  Some peasant?" Hikari asked.

            "If I had known that you were a woman, I wouldn't have fought you," Kaiden snarled.

            "Exactly.  You would have thought it an easy win.  Well tell me, how does it feel to know that you've lost to a woman?" Hikari asked, still not moving the steel from his throat.

            "I refuse to count that as a battle."

            "You fought me because you thought that I was boy.  Let me tell you one thing, little boy," Hikari growled.

            "I'm not a little boy.  My name is Kaiden Aston, future king of Asturia.  And I'm eighteen years old."

            "And I was hoping that there would have been a formal introduction," Van groaned.

            Kaiden and Hikari stared each other down until Hikari moved her sword away from Kaiden's throat and started to chuckle.  And then it turned into full-blown laughter.  "Well, we were introduced.  And now I'm going to take a shower."

            She walked off, leaving the adults and Kaiden stunned in the courtyard.

            "That little fireball is yours?" Millerna asked.

            "Yeah," Van replied.  "And sometimes I wonder if that's a good thing."

            Kaiden was still glaring at her figure as it disappeared into the castle.  "She's a stuck up and spoiled brat."

            "Kaiden, be nice," Millerna sighed.

            "Mother, I refuse to be polite to her.  I don't know what she is, but I know what she isn't.  And that's a lady," Kaiden snorted.

            "Who, Lady Hikari?"

            Kaiden turned to face his cousin.  "You know that, that, that-"

            "Why yes, I do.  I find her quite charming, actually," Chid replied.

            "You can have her.  I don't want to have anything to do with a brat like that," Kaiden muttered.

            "Kaiden!" Millerna gasped as her son stood up and stalked off to his room.  She let her shoulders slouch and shook her head.  "I just don't get him.  I thought that he'd be happy to finally meet a girl his age."

            "Hikari isn't exactly comfortable around boys," Hitomi sighed.  "I think that it might have something to do with the fact that she's an excellent swordswoman."

            "I was watching her," Allen admitted.  "She has excellent technique and form.  Kaiden wasn't much of a challenge for her.  I'd like to take her on though.  It might be the first real duel I've had in a while."

            "And you don't count the duels against me?" Van asked.

            "I do, but Hikari is excellent.  She's a natural," Allen said.  "And I'd like to help her perfect her art."

            "I thought that you were sent here to be the ambassador," Millerna said.

            "I was.  But you have to find ways to pass the time you know," Allen shrugged.

            Millerna rolled her eyes.  "Some ambassador you turned out to be."

            "Celena handles the formal affairs," Allen said.

            "Of course.  What on Gaea made me think that you could do a woman's job?" Millerna asked.

            "What!"

            Hitomi giggled as Allen flushed and Millerna chuckled.

            "Now, now dear.  I think that you've upset Allen," Dryden said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

            "I think that I have wounded his pride, and that's all.  He knows that I was joking around with him," Millerna said.

            "Oh, of course," Allen said, folding his arms across his chest.

            The others chuckled as the Queen of Asturia and the Knight of Caeli faced off.

~*~

            She tied the laces of her gown as she hurried down the hall.  The bell for brunch had rung and she was running late.  She knew that if she weren't on time, Kaiden would attack that and blow it out of proportion.  "I'm gonna be late!"

            She rushed down the hallway, now fussing with her skirt and then crashed into someone.  "I'm so sorry!"

            The girl looked up from the floor.  She had blue-green eyes with dirty dishwater blonde hair that flowed down her back in waves.  "It's okay.  I know what a pain these gowns can be."

            "Finally!  Someone who sees my point of view!" Hikari sighed.

            "Uh, my name is Eliana Aston," the girl said as she stood up.

            "Uh, Hikari Fanel."

            "Fanel?  Are you related to Van?"

            "I'm his daughter."

            "His what?"

            "Yeah, I know.  It was my initial reaction as well.  That would make me the heir to the Fanelian throne."

            "Talk about a big responsibility.  My brother Kaiden is the heir to the Asturian throne.  Have you met him?"

            Hikari snorted.  "Unfortunately."

            "You don't like him?"

            "How can I like a pompous ass like him?  He thinks that he's all that and the shoes too, which he's not, but that's beside the point.  He's a stuck up punk and I can't stand him."

            "Along with every other girl out there.  Mother's worried that we won't find a princess to marry him."

            "If he'd stop acting like he was king of the world, she just might."

            Eliana chuckled.  "Isn't that the truth?  We should hurry along to brunch or we'll be lectured on our tardiness."

            Hikari nodded.  "Yup, let's go."

~*~

            "Well, well, look who decided to join us," Kaiden smirked from his seat.

            Hikari glared at him as she sat down and Eliana sunk down in embarrassment.

            "Sorry that we're late," Eliana mumbled.  "We had some problems with Hikari's dress."

            "Well, it appears that you have everything in order," Chid said as he eyed Hikari.  "You look very beautiful this morning."

            Hikari blushed as Chid smiled at her.

            "I don't know what you see in her," Kaiden remarked.

            "I see a beautiful and confused young lady that needs a little help.  Help that I'm willing to offer," Chid said.

            "Thank you," Hikari mumbled.

            "So, Hikari, you're seventeen?" Millerna asked, trying to break the tension in the room.

            "Yes ma'am.  I just turned seventeen yesterday," Hikari answered.

            "Amazing," Dryden said.  "What are your hobbies?  Besides dueling?"

            "Art in general," Hikari shrugged.

            "She wouldn't know what art was if it hit her in the face," Kaiden muttered into his glass.

            "Kaiden!" Millerna gasped, shocked at her son's behavior.  Smiling apologetically, she returned her attention to Hikari.  "So, what parts of art do you study?"

            "Drawing, painting, music, those kinds of things," Hikari answered.  "So, Eliana, what do you like doing?"

            "Me?" Eliana squeaked.

            "Yes you," Hikari replied.  "What do you like doing?"

            "Princess things."

            "Princess things?  Princess things?  There are princess things?" Hikari asked.

            "You know, needle points, music, singing, writing, reading, things of that nature," Eliana shrugged.

            "Boring," Hikari yawned.

            "I find them quite stimulating," Eliana protested.

            "But they're so I'm-not-getting-my-feet-dirty activities.  Have you ever ran down a muddy hill in your bare feet?" Hikari asked.

            "Certainly not!" Eliana replied.

            "You should try it sometime," Hikari said.  "Now that's stimulating.  Have you ever used a sword?'

            "Women don't use swords.  They're for men."

            "Nope, wrong again.  I fence," Hikari said.  "In fact, I beat your brother this morning."

            "Really?"

            Hikari gave a smug look to Kaiden, who glowered at her.  "Really.  Didn't I Kaiden?"

            Kaiden set his jaw firm and refused to speak.

            "It was quite impressive, actually," Allen piped up.  "She has excellent technique and form.  Kaiden didn't stand a chance."

            Kaiden's face grew red in embarrassment as Eliana looked at Hikari in shock.  "You actually fight with a sword?"

            "Of course I do."

            "I find that rather odd.  Why should a woman use a sword?"

            Hikari put her fork on the table and sighed.  "And why shouldn't a woman use a sword?  Can you answer that for me?"

            Eliana stared at her plate and blushed.  "Well, no.  But swords are generally used for fighting and women shouldn't fight."

            Hikari stood up and faced the flustered Asturian princess.  "So women are expected to follow what ever the men deem proper for them to do?  Is that how it works?  Well, where I come from, women are free to make their own choices and not have worry if a man thinks if it's proper or not.  God may have given men two heads but only enough blood to run one at a time!"

            Hitomi blinked a few times to hear such words come out of her daughter's mouth.  But Hikari was on to something and she certainly wasn't going to make a comment on it.

            "What do you mean two heads?" Eliana asked.

            Hikari blushed.  "Erm, uh, I don't think it's my place to explain that to you."

            Millerna also was confused.  "I'm afraid I don't understand either."

            Hitomi sighed as she drummed her fingers on the tabletop.  "I think that maybe breakfast is over now."

            "Hitomi, do you know what she's talking about?" Millerna asked.

            All of the men were silent as Hitomi nodded.  "Yeah.  I do."

            "Could you explain it to us?"

            "The men know perfectly well what Hikari is talking about, that's why they're so embarrassed right now," Hitomi pointed out.

            Sure enough, every man around the table was slightly flushed at the thought of a seventeen-year-old girl mentioning that part of their anatomy. 

            Millerna looked thoughtful for a moment before glowing a brilliant red.  "My goodness.  But it is true."

            Hitomi and Millerna shared a chuckle as the men continued to flush and Eliana continued to be confused.

            "I think that's enough breakfast for now," Van said, standing up.  "Dryden, Millerna, please, come with me to see where we plan on holding the ceremony."

            Dryden stood up as did Millerna and the adults dismissed themselves, leaving Hikari, Kaiden, Eliana and Chid alone in the dining hall.

            "Chid, aren't you going with them?"

            Chid shook his head.  "I saw it last night.  Hikari, would you give me the honor of a fencing match with you?"

            Hikari stood up, blinking.  "Are you sure you want to fight with me?"

            Chid placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his palm.  "I see it more are a friendly competition."

            Hikari grinned at him.  "You have yourself a deal."

            Kaiden took a sip of he juice.  "Watch yourself cousin, or you'll find yourself looking up her steel."

            "I don't think so," Chid said, glancing at his defeated cousin.  He was looking forward to meeting a worthy opponent, regardless of gender.

~*~

Ah, so Millerna and Dryden have two children, and one of them happens to be a complete and total jerk, or is he?  Kaiden (rhymes with Dryden) is used to getting his way, and he's used to subservient women, so Hikari is a real eye-opener for him.  And yet there's chemistry between the two.  But Chid seems to be in love with her yes, it's yet another Escaflowne love triangle!

Mercy_angel_09