A/N: Hey all! Sorry it took me so long to update this… (whistles as she lights a school textbook on fire) eh-heh-heh… Well anyways, I'm finally updating, so I have a few shoutouts to give…
(grabs a megaphone)
Glory's #1 Fan: Oh but of course…Glory's number one fan is (who else?) HIMSELF!!! Thanks for the compliment on the fountain-thingie. I laughed too!!
Kenta Divina: Thanks for yer another AWESOME review! Um… to answer your question about the Draconians, I think they were all killed when Atlantis was destroyed. Or something like that… Maybe their spirits are imprisoned in the cosmos somewhere… It might have been in the show, but I can't remember! ACK! Must go watch it again!! The reason her brother wants Kaiyari dead is….well that would ruin the plot now, wouldn't it?! MWAHAHAHAAAA!!!! It will be in future chapters.
A steady click of boots jolted Kaiyari from her dreamless sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, to find she was facing a thick wooden door, set in a stone wall. Suddenly, a hatch in the door slid open, and a loaf of moldy bread was pushed through, followed by a crude stone bowl of water.
"Don't eat it all at once!" A cruel voice said sarcastically. "It's all you get for today!"
There was some harsh masculine laughter from the other side of the door, and the footfalls receded.
Kaiyari counted backwards from 50, and then tried to crawl forward.
She bit her lip as an intense burst of pain hit her. She hurt in places she didn't even know she had. Her arms and legs were bound together, and the thick roped dug into her bloody skin.
Movement was impossible, so she let her head sink back to the cold stone floor, as oblivion claimed her.
A blonde haired woman lay sprawled in a stone room. Her long hair covered her face, and her tattered dress was tangled around her legs.
One arm stretched out from under the curtain of hair, and the pale skin was mottled with bruises and cuts.
Suddenly, the thick wooden door swung open, and a shadowed man strode in, and kicked the lady lightly in the side.
She groaned and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She glared at him, but her hands were trembling like leaves in the wind.
"So…Kyoko. You have come to my humble abode." He laughed cruelly, and pulled her to her feet, smiling sinisterly.
She glared at him from beneath a curtain of golden hair. "Kaemon. I know what it is so seek." Her voice was soft, sliding fluidly over her words.
Kaemon's lips turned upward, shifting into a smile. "I see. And what would I been seeking, Miss Kyoko?"
The lady reached inside the neck of her dress, and pulled out a thumbnail sized black opal, on a silver chain.
Kaemon's breath hissed between his teeth as he reached reverently for the opal.
Suddenly, the lady jerked back, and spat on him. "You'll never get it from me!" she turned and ripped the chain off her neck, flinging the opal at the wall behind her.
With a sound like a knife being sharpened, the jewel shattered on the hard stone, the pieces exploding in all directions.
"NO!" Kaemon dropped to his knees amid the shattered jewel. "What have you done?!" his eyes blazed, and he surged to his feet. "Woman, you will pay for this…"
Kaiyari woke only to roll over to the water bowl, and take a few sips to ease her parched throat. Leaning heavily on the wall, she managed to get herself in a standing position. Standing on tip-toe, she looked out the single barred window in her cell. The ground far, far, below, was unfamiliar, and the land was torn and ravaged.
She let herself slide slowly back down the wall, and sighed in despair. Van…Van, where are you? I need you…Help me!
"Dammit Allen! Get off me!" Van's eyes blazed, as he pulled against his mentor. Allen had Van's arms held behind him, physically restraining him.
"Listen to me Van! You can't go after her! You can't go charge against them single handedly! You'd be killed! And how would that help Kaiyari?!"
Van struggled harder. "It's better than just sitting here and letting her rot in a cell!"
Allen sighed. "We're not going to let her rot in a cell. We're just not going to attempt to take down Zaibach all alone."
Van gave a violent shove, jerking out of Allen's hold. But he did not attempt to charge off. He sighed and sat down abruptly, burying his head in his hands.
Allen smiled sadly and put a comforting arm over Van's shoulders. "We'll get her out of there Van. I swear it…"
Kaiyari dreamed again.
Kyoko lay on the floor of the cell again, looking even more abused. Several of her fingers had obviously been broken, and her body was covered in bruises. A large cut stretched down the side of her face, bleeding sluggishly onto her shredded dress. She struggled to her knees, obviously in pain.
The door banged open abruptly, and Kaemon stood sihluted in the light from the corridor.
"I told you you'd pay for that jewel, woman. I keep my promises." He gestured to someone in the hall, and a smaller figure was pushed forward. "Mama?"
A small, blonde-haired boy stood next to Kaemon.
"Kendai!" shrieked the woman. "Oh God no!" she lunged clumsily at the boy.
Kaemon smiled and kicked her back. "Come child. Come with Kaemon-sama. That's a good boy!" he led the sobbing child from the room, locking the door behind him.
"Kendai! No! Bring my child back!" The echoes of her voice were her only answer.
Kaiyari woke in a cold sweat. She took another drink and a few bites of the bread. Yuck. Tastes like sawdust. But then again, it probably is…
She sighed and huddled into a corner trying to get warm. She tried to piece together what had happened. "So after the shadow-thing got me, it brought me here. I must be in a cell. And the shadow-thing is probably one of Zaibach's creations. That means I'm captive on one of Zaibach's Floating Fortresses." She shivered. I don't like this one bit…
Van clenched his fingers around the armrests of his chair. Kaiyari…Where are you? What has happened to you? Are you alright?
"M'lord? Are you listening?" Van snapped back to reality. Lord Vordon looked slightly annoyed, and the rest of the councilors looked at the young king with expressions that varied from pity to panic.
He sighed. "What were you saying Vordon?"
The man sighed gustily. "Why should we risk our forces? What if she's already dead?"
Van surged to his feet. "She isn't dead!"
All the council members stared at Van in astonishment. "Van? Are you sure?" asked Allen.
Van sighed. "I'd know if she was dead. And she's not."
Allen sighed and nodded. "We still shouldn't risk all our troops."
Gaddes stood. "Bo-I mean Allen-sama… We could take the Crusade!"
Allen nodded. "Van?"
The king clenched his fists again. "Load Escaflowne onto the Crusade."
I'm coming Kaiyari…
Kaiyari slowly drifted off to sleep, watching the moon through the cell window.
The lady knelt in the center of her cell. A shaft of moonlight fell on her, turning her hair to silver. She bowed her head. In one hand she held a sharp shard of the broken opal. She looked once out the window. "Forgive me…" she whispered.
With quick slashes, she sliced the shard across her wrists.
Shortly, the door to the cell eased open. "Mama? Mama, I got away! Mama?" the little blond boy stuck his head in. "MAMA!" he screamed. The lady lay sprawled in a pool of blood, her hair spread out like golden yarn. She was very pale, but her expression was peaceful.
The child sank to the floor sobbing, until Kaemon came and carried him away.
Kaiyari snapped awake. Blessed Agnira! I'm in the cell my mother was killed in! She shivered and hunched into a ball in the corner, her eyes instinctively going to the spot where the blonde-haired lady had lain in the puddle of blood.
Van…Van! Help me…