Disclaimer: * Sigh * I don't own Esca, leave me be...
A/N: If I don't add for long intervals it's because a) My teachers have gone insane and have decided to give me 2 hours worth of homework (what else is new?) b) I'm stuck baby-sitting my stupid siblings, or getting paid to watch other kids... (Hey, I could afford a new Esca CD...) c) I'm out of town d) Lazy e) Too many extra-curricular activities... f) Fanfiction.net is down and I am bummed out just sitting, staring at a blank computer screen... g) I'm dead, how sad... Well, I hope to have a few more chapters, these are chapters aimed years ahead at a time, so don't start screaming at me that I skip ahead too much in the next few, it's intentional, so R&R, and enjoy! ^_^
Chapter 33: How Long?
5 years later... (A/N: Sorry, it's such a big gap, I'll probably write another flashback chapter when I feel inspired...)
Mira sat in the gardens, under a gazebo. A small pond rippled next to her, and cherry blossoms fell from the trees, twirling around her. (A/N: Don't ask what's with me and cherry blossoms, OK? Just don't ask...) The wind picked up and caught her silver locks, as they blew with the breeze.
"So much has changed..." She muttered under her breath.
"Mother?" A small silver haired boy with green eyes and a small girl with raven hair and blue eyes tugged at her skirt.
"What's wrong mother?" The boy asked.
"Why are you so sad?" The little girl asked as a tear glistened in Mira's eye.
"Oh, no reason..." She whispered to the wind.
"Is it about father?" The boy asked, in a knowing tone.
"Yes, dear, I suppose it is..." She murmured in reply.
It had been 5 years since she had married Daren, 5 years since she had become Princess and future Queen of Fanelia... 4 years since she had become the mother of her two little twins, Tekui and Vara... 6 months, since Daren had disappeared... A war with one of Zaibach's neighboring countries had begun, when they weren't letting Fanelian trade ships pass through their borders. Daren had insisted to go out to the front lines... He had been gone for months, fought battle, after bloody battle. Mira had been playing with the twins outside in the gardens, when a scout arrived. An arrow was through his back and as soon as he halted his horse, it died right there on the spot.
The scout coughed up blood as he sputtered out, "The king, the king is gone..." Then, he too died, leaving Mira pale in shock and grief. She had abandoned Tekui and Vara and walked inside in a ghost-like trance. She walked into the parlor and saw that Hitomi and Van must have heard the news. Hitomi was white, the green gone from her eyes; she sobbed into Van's shirt, as Van cradled her, fighting back tears himself.
After a few minutes, Hitomi finally noticed that Mira was in their presence.
"Oh, Mira, here me and Van are, sobbing like overgrown babies, when you're a widow, and my poor little grandchildren are fatherless..." This made her break into a fresh onslaught of tears.
"Shh... Shh... It's all right darling..." Van whispered as he tried to sooth her.
"No it isn't, my baby, my little baby boy, he's gone..." She whispered clutching his chest.
"I remember when I first held him in my arms, when the nurse told me that I had a son..."
"Wondering about your boy are you?" A hunched over figure cackled as she walked in, draped in a black cloak.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Van held Hitomi tighter, glaring at the mysterious person.
"Don't treat your sister that way, brother..." Said the figure as she threw off the cloak, to reveal that it was indeed Raena.
"Why do you always show up like that?" Asked Mira puzzled by the many times Raena had helped their family, and then just disappeared like that.
"Call it habit I suppose, the royal life's not for me!" Raena replied.
"But now, for more pressing matters..."
"Want to know about your boy?"
"Yes sister, please tell us what happened..." Van pleaded with his mysterious sibling.
"I will assist you, dear brother..." She replied in her calm voice, as she projected an image from her mind.
//It was Daren. He was stumbling blindly through a forest, blood coating his head, searing in pain. Salty tears ran down his bloody cheeks as he grimaced with each step, he had broken two ribs and had sprained his ankle, he used a piece of wood for support as he stumbled along. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground unconscious, blood flowing from his gaping wounds. Out of the darkness, many pairs of little eyes emerged, they muttered in some strange tongue and circled the prince, coming closer and closer, then the vision blacked out...//
Mira looked more pale than before and she and Hitomi wouldn't stop screaming. Raena muttered a strange word and they were instantly silent. Their mouths were still open, in that gaping position, but no sound was coming out.
"What did you do?" Van asked, in slight amusement.
"I simply used a silencing spell I learned in Valoria." She replied, she snapped her fingers and the screaming once again echoed throughout the hall.
"He's all right, but that's all I can say." Raena said in her eerie apologetic voice that ran a shiver down everyone's spines.
"Goodbye for now..." And she wavered away.
"That woman has a million different ways of leaving..." Mira remarked.
"Yes she does." Van replied to his daughter-in-law.
"MOM! DAD! MIRA! WE TOOK THE FASTEST AIRSHIP WE COULD WHEN WE HEARD THE NEWS!" Queen Varomi de Fassa exclaimed as she burst into the room, stopping to catch her breath.
"Here, take him..." She said to her mother, shoving the baby into Hitomi's arms. Leo followed soon after, holding his little daughter's hand as they walked steadily towards the group.
"Hello everybody," The king of Asturia greeted the mourning group.
"I'm sorry about Daren, you know he's my best friend... Is there anything we can do to help?"
"No, my friend, it's in fate's hands now..." Van replied.
Everyone was surprised to hear Hitomi laugh.
"Fate... Ha... Fate's just a cruel joke that tricks you into believing it..."
Leo and Varomi became King and Queen of Asturia a year ago, when King Dryden and Queen Millerna died in a buggy accident on their way home to Palas. They had a son and a daughter, Hitomi and Van's other set of grandchildren. Selene and Feron de Fassa. Selene looked like her Fassa grandmother, but with green eyes like Hitomi's. Feron had chestnut colored hair and peculiar eyes that were between amber and brown. Feron was only a few months old, while Selene was around the age of two.
'How long can these children keep their innocence? How long until they too will be plunged into the ever raging war which is our destiny?' Van thought in concern as he watched the children giggling as they played tag outside. 'How long?'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You've captured the dragon then?"
"Good job boys, I knew I could count on you lazy lummoxes!"
The prisoner was led in and the figure gasped, "B-Brother?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Ooh cliffhanger... I know that was short, but just live with it ok; it's almost 12, so I kind of need to go... Anyways, you know the drill, R&R and come back for the next chapter! Sorry to those of you who want me to just quit right now, new ideas just keep popping into my twisted little mind, this may go on for a while longer... Oh yeah, and I have been inspired for flashback chapters, they're coming up in the chapter after 34... Arigatou and Sionara! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~
A/N: If I don't add for long intervals it's because a) My teachers have gone insane and have decided to give me 2 hours worth of homework (what else is new?) b) I'm stuck baby-sitting my stupid siblings, or getting paid to watch other kids... (Hey, I could afford a new Esca CD...) c) I'm out of town d) Lazy e) Too many extra-curricular activities... f) Fanfiction.net is down and I am bummed out just sitting, staring at a blank computer screen... g) I'm dead, how sad... Well, I hope to have a few more chapters, these are chapters aimed years ahead at a time, so don't start screaming at me that I skip ahead too much in the next few, it's intentional, so R&R, and enjoy! ^_^
Chapter 33: How Long?
5 years later... (A/N: Sorry, it's such a big gap, I'll probably write another flashback chapter when I feel inspired...)
Mira sat in the gardens, under a gazebo. A small pond rippled next to her, and cherry blossoms fell from the trees, twirling around her. (A/N: Don't ask what's with me and cherry blossoms, OK? Just don't ask...) The wind picked up and caught her silver locks, as they blew with the breeze.
"So much has changed..." She muttered under her breath.
"Mother?" A small silver haired boy with green eyes and a small girl with raven hair and blue eyes tugged at her skirt.
"What's wrong mother?" The boy asked.
"Why are you so sad?" The little girl asked as a tear glistened in Mira's eye.
"Oh, no reason..." She whispered to the wind.
"Is it about father?" The boy asked, in a knowing tone.
"Yes, dear, I suppose it is..." She murmured in reply.
It had been 5 years since she had married Daren, 5 years since she had become Princess and future Queen of Fanelia... 4 years since she had become the mother of her two little twins, Tekui and Vara... 6 months, since Daren had disappeared... A war with one of Zaibach's neighboring countries had begun, when they weren't letting Fanelian trade ships pass through their borders. Daren had insisted to go out to the front lines... He had been gone for months, fought battle, after bloody battle. Mira had been playing with the twins outside in the gardens, when a scout arrived. An arrow was through his back and as soon as he halted his horse, it died right there on the spot.
The scout coughed up blood as he sputtered out, "The king, the king is gone..." Then, he too died, leaving Mira pale in shock and grief. She had abandoned Tekui and Vara and walked inside in a ghost-like trance. She walked into the parlor and saw that Hitomi and Van must have heard the news. Hitomi was white, the green gone from her eyes; she sobbed into Van's shirt, as Van cradled her, fighting back tears himself.
After a few minutes, Hitomi finally noticed that Mira was in their presence.
"Oh, Mira, here me and Van are, sobbing like overgrown babies, when you're a widow, and my poor little grandchildren are fatherless..." This made her break into a fresh onslaught of tears.
"Shh... Shh... It's all right darling..." Van whispered as he tried to sooth her.
"No it isn't, my baby, my little baby boy, he's gone..." She whispered clutching his chest.
"I remember when I first held him in my arms, when the nurse told me that I had a son..."
"Wondering about your boy are you?" A hunched over figure cackled as she walked in, draped in a black cloak.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Van held Hitomi tighter, glaring at the mysterious person.
"Don't treat your sister that way, brother..." Said the figure as she threw off the cloak, to reveal that it was indeed Raena.
"Why do you always show up like that?" Asked Mira puzzled by the many times Raena had helped their family, and then just disappeared like that.
"Call it habit I suppose, the royal life's not for me!" Raena replied.
"But now, for more pressing matters..."
"Want to know about your boy?"
"Yes sister, please tell us what happened..." Van pleaded with his mysterious sibling.
"I will assist you, dear brother..." She replied in her calm voice, as she projected an image from her mind.
//It was Daren. He was stumbling blindly through a forest, blood coating his head, searing in pain. Salty tears ran down his bloody cheeks as he grimaced with each step, he had broken two ribs and had sprained his ankle, he used a piece of wood for support as he stumbled along. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground unconscious, blood flowing from his gaping wounds. Out of the darkness, many pairs of little eyes emerged, they muttered in some strange tongue and circled the prince, coming closer and closer, then the vision blacked out...//
Mira looked more pale than before and she and Hitomi wouldn't stop screaming. Raena muttered a strange word and they were instantly silent. Their mouths were still open, in that gaping position, but no sound was coming out.
"What did you do?" Van asked, in slight amusement.
"I simply used a silencing spell I learned in Valoria." She replied, she snapped her fingers and the screaming once again echoed throughout the hall.
"He's all right, but that's all I can say." Raena said in her eerie apologetic voice that ran a shiver down everyone's spines.
"Goodbye for now..." And she wavered away.
"That woman has a million different ways of leaving..." Mira remarked.
"Yes she does." Van replied to his daughter-in-law.
"MOM! DAD! MIRA! WE TOOK THE FASTEST AIRSHIP WE COULD WHEN WE HEARD THE NEWS!" Queen Varomi de Fassa exclaimed as she burst into the room, stopping to catch her breath.
"Here, take him..." She said to her mother, shoving the baby into Hitomi's arms. Leo followed soon after, holding his little daughter's hand as they walked steadily towards the group.
"Hello everybody," The king of Asturia greeted the mourning group.
"I'm sorry about Daren, you know he's my best friend... Is there anything we can do to help?"
"No, my friend, it's in fate's hands now..." Van replied.
Everyone was surprised to hear Hitomi laugh.
"Fate... Ha... Fate's just a cruel joke that tricks you into believing it..."
Leo and Varomi became King and Queen of Asturia a year ago, when King Dryden and Queen Millerna died in a buggy accident on their way home to Palas. They had a son and a daughter, Hitomi and Van's other set of grandchildren. Selene and Feron de Fassa. Selene looked like her Fassa grandmother, but with green eyes like Hitomi's. Feron had chestnut colored hair and peculiar eyes that were between amber and brown. Feron was only a few months old, while Selene was around the age of two.
'How long can these children keep their innocence? How long until they too will be plunged into the ever raging war which is our destiny?' Van thought in concern as he watched the children giggling as they played tag outside. 'How long?'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You've captured the dragon then?"
"Good job boys, I knew I could count on you lazy lummoxes!"
The prisoner was led in and the figure gasped, "B-Brother?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Ooh cliffhanger... I know that was short, but just live with it ok; it's almost 12, so I kind of need to go... Anyways, you know the drill, R&R and come back for the next chapter! Sorry to those of you who want me to just quit right now, new ideas just keep popping into my twisted little mind, this may go on for a while longer... Oh yeah, and I have been inspired for flashback chapters, they're coming up in the chapter after 34... Arigatou and Sionara! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~