Disclaimer: I don't own Esca... All original characters (the list goes on and on and on... * energizer bunny walks by *) are MINE!
A/N: I thought the last chapter was OK, not sure about this one yet, guess I'll find out once I've written it...
I found it interesting when I looked up the names Daren and Mira to see what they meant, since I just made them up on the spur of the moment. Coincidental, ne?
'Your name of Daren gives you a clever mind, good business judgment, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation of the finer things of life. You are serious-minded and not inclined to make light of things even in little ways, and in your younger years you had more mature interests than others your age. Home and family mean a great deal to you and it is natural that you should desire the security of a peaceful, settled home environment where you can enjoy the companionship of family and friends. Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right. In the home you assume your responsibilities capably, having the self-confidence to form your own opinions and make your own decisions. Others can rely on you; once you have given your word you will do your utmost to fulfil a responsibility. However, there is a tendency to be a little too independent in your thinking and it is difficult for you to accept the help of others when you should. Due to your strong sense of responsibility, you could experience worry and mental turmoil through assuming more responsibility than you should. Friction could arise through others feeling that you were interfering with their rights and privileges, even though you are only trying to help.
Your first name of Mira has given you energy, drive, and ambition, but also an almost excessively strong-willed and independent nature. While you are creative, inventive, and ingenious in practical matters, and always ready to initiate and promote new undertakings, you often experience difficulty in bringing your undertakings to a successful conclusion because of your own changing interests or changing circumstances. You become intensely involved with everything you plan to do, but the stress arising from frustrating obstacles or misunderstandings with others could prompt you to be intolerant and sarcastic in your expression, with breakdowns in congenial relations with family and friends a possible end result. True relaxation and peace of mind are elusive under this name.'
I just thought that was cool... Completely unintentinally my characters are like their names. I'm a genius and I never even knew it! ^_^; * Everyone falls over as they sweatdrop *
I've repeated the terms a ton so look them up in the other chapters if you have no idea what I'm saying, here we go! Keep reviewing! Thanks and enjoy! ^_^
Chapter 38: Aishiteru
'I'm a dragon...' Daren thought in bewilderment. He just couldn't get used to this newfound bit of information.
'And I'm going to be put under Dilandau's command...' He shuddered at the thought.
'Surely he wouldn't kill his own son-inlaw?' Daren tried to tell himself. But it wasn't very good reassurance. He knew from the glint in Dilandau's eyes. He was a bloodthirsty killer. He'd do anything for what he believed in. Fire and death... That was all that mattered to him. His wife had mattered too, but that was a thing of the past...
"On your feet!" A guard barked.
"What's the rush?" Daren muttered as the guard kicked him from the cell, he eyed the girl in the cell next to his. She looked so vaguely familiar. He was sure he had seen her somewhere before, but he decided to ignore that for the present. He was led down a dark corridor, musty, smelling of damp earth and sweat. The floor was dirt, the ceiling was dirt, he was surrounded by various shades of brown.
The prisoners cried out as the guard passed.
"WATER!"
"PLEASE! HELP ME!"
"IS IT TIME?"
"YOU'LL NEVER TAME ME, YOU ZAIBACH SCUM!"
Many prayers were muttered, and Daren felt sick, seeing that many of the prisoners were dead, still lying on the cold ground. He vomited losing his last few day's worth of food, and the guard beat him with his club as he spurred him forward into the darkness...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"When's DAR-EN! Supposed to be here?" Dilandau asked Gatty, mocking Daren's name.
"He should be here anytime now sir. His discussion with Empress Memoria took longer than they originally thought." Gatty replied, standing at attention in front of his commander.
Dilandau swished his wine around in his glass, watching it with intensity. Wine was the color of his eyes, he had always liked wine. It soothed him. He had always sat up late at night with Folken and they had celebrated the day's triumphs with the alcoholic beverage. He had first had it when he was 12. He had slipped a bottle of wine out of Folken's private stores and had instantly loved the drink, stealing Folken's whenever possible. He had eventually been caught and Dilandau-Sama drinking wine had become an accepted fact. Dornkirk had always chatised Folken for it, saying it made the boy even more unstable and that Folken would lead to their downfall. Which in the end, was pretty accurate. But Dilandau doubted that the end of the glorious Zaibach empire was all on account of him drinking wine. He laughed softly and the Dragonslayers looked quite bewildered, not used to their general laughing in such a manner.
"Are you all right sir?" Chesta asked in concern. His cheek turned red as he was struck.
"That's none of your business! All of you! Out of my sight, NOW!" Dilandau sighed as they departed, Chesta rubbing his sore cheek.
"Incompetent fools..." He muttered as he stroked his scar.
"That's not the way to talk about your troops, now is it?" A nearby voice echoed into the darkness.
Dilandau instantly recognized the all-too-familiar voice of his son-inlaw.
"I don't have the time to deal with you right now. I'll kill you later." Dilandau murmured, going back into his state of endless waiting.
"You shouldn't threaten to kill one of your own soldiers." Daren replied, with a smug look.
"So she went through with it, ne?" Dilandau asked in pure boredom.
"Yeah, I guess." Daren replied thoughtfully.
"First lesson as a slayer..." Dilandau whispered as he grabbed Daren by his shirt collar and punched him in the face.
"My name is Dilandau-Sama. And I am general of Zaibach's most elite soldiers. The Dragonslayers are at my command, and at my mercy..." He shoved Daren against the wall, still holding him by the collar.
'One of the few advantages of these weird Fanelian shirts.' Dilandau thought to himself.
"Yes sir." Daren mumbled his face aching. He received a blow to the stomach.
"What was that?" Dilandau asked, taking great amusement out of this whole turn of events.
"Yes, Dilandau-Sama." Daren said more clearly, as he clutched his stomach.
"Good. I see we've reached an understanding. Dar-en!" He emphasized as he gave a satisfied smirk.
"You're dismissed." He muttered.
"DALET!"
"Yes, Dilandau-Sama?" Dalet asked as he raced into the room, giving his commander a dignifying bow.
"Take this new recruit and get him settled in. And Dalet?"
"Yes sir?" Dalet asked.
"If he causes any trouble, just do what I'd do."
"Yes sir." Dalet exited the room, Daren following behind. He shot Dilandau an angry glare over his shoulder as he headed out the doorway.
"Yes. Excellent." Dilandau's voice echoed in the empty room as the glass of wine dropped to the floor, shattering into thousands of pieces.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"This is the dorm, and this is where we train." Dalet told the boy standing behind him as he gestured to the various rooms.
"And that's the galley. Warning, don't try the mystery meat crap they give us." Dalet warned in a knowing voice.
"I'll be sure to remember that." Daren commented, looking around curiously.
"You'll be expected to train at least 5 hours a day. Breakfast at 6:00, training begins at 7:00, lunch at noon, dinner at 5:00. After dinner, the night is yours, unless we're in battle or otherwise instructed. You are not authorized in Lord Folken's or Lord Dilandau's private chambers."
"I could have figured that out by myself." Daren muttered in disgust, since this guy seemed to think he was a complete moron.
Dalet chose to ignore this remark and continued.
"These are the guys..." He heard an angry huff and turned red in embarrassment.
"Oh yeah, AND girls."
"That's better." A voice from the crowd replied.
"Guimel, Gatty, Chesta, Viole, Migel, REFINA..." He turned to look at the blonde pony-tailed girl who had interrupted him earlier.
"HOW old are you guys?" Daren asked in interest.
Refina looked even more angry at this remark and began socking Daren in the head.
"NEVER... smack ASK... punch ME... Stomach blow THAT... Hit square in the jaw AGAIN!" She angrily screamed at the quite bewildered Daren, who now had more injuries than he could count from the past few days.
"Okey dokey..." Daren replied, rubbing his sore jaw.
"You still fight pretty well for someone your age..." He said under his breath.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Refina screeched.
"Umm... Nothing... I was just saying how YOUNG you look..." Daren hastily added.
"That better have been all it was..." Refina muttered in contempt before going back to her original conversation with Chesta.
"These are our other new recruits..." Dalet tried to overlook the feud.
"Keiji, Shin, Variel, the only other girl slayer."
"And PROOOOOOUD of it!" Variel, the pink haired girl replied.
"Well... umm... yes..." Dalet muttered in frustration of always being interrupted by these annoying women.
"And that's pretty much it. There are other slayers, they just aren't around, probably out getting drunk or something..." Dalet remarked in obvious dislike for this younger generation of slayer.
"Well, perhaps I'll just have to go find them..." Daren commented as he raced from the room.
'I'll never get used to all this leather...' Daren thought. He had changed into his official Dragonslayer uniform, and it felt very confining although he looked quite good in it actually. While observing his outfit, he failed to notice he was about to collide with someone.
"Gomen nasai." He muttered as he rubbed his head. He knew he was gonna be hurting in the morning after such an abusive day.
"It's all right." A somewhat muffled voice replied as the figure continued down the hallway.
"Wait!" Daren called back to the mysterious person.
"Are you a Dragonslayer?"
"Yes and no." The shadowy person replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daren asked in impatience.
"I am not part of Dilandau-Sama's Dragonslayers, but I have slayed a dragon."
"You may call me Aishi." She turned away, Daren still not catching a glimpse of her masked face.
"Ok..." Daren muttered.
"Too many mysteries in my life. They just turn up, one after another..."
"Hey! Daren! The dorm's THIS way!" Variel called to the confused raven haired boy.
"Oh. Thanks." He called back, running in her direction.
The dorm seemed fairly simply, 15 cots, 15 lockers, a few bathrooms. He noticed that the girls got their own.
'It figures...' He thought.
It was themed in blue in black with Zaibach Insignia everywhere. Daren walked over to what he presumed was his locker and found in smelled.
"Yuck." He commented as the few Dragonslayers in the room laughed at their new found comrade's disdain for his storage space.
"Here." Keiji said, throwing him a bottle of some sort.
"What's this?" Daren asked in confusion.
"Ode de Dragon? You're giving me this dragon scent to spray all over my junk? I know from experience, dragons are not the best smelling creatures."
"Better than Ode de Bariu. He got killed the other day." Variel said, with regret in her voice.
"I must admit though, he needed a few more showers and quite a bit of deodorant."
"Great. I get the locker of a dead guy who smelled." Daren commented.
"Anything sounds bad when you say it with that attitude!" Shin commented, as he cleaned his sword, grinning at Daren.
"So how did you guys get roped into this job anyway?" Daren asked, flopping down on his stiff cot.
"We weren't 'roped into it!'" Variel exclaimed in fury.
"Don't you know what an honor it is to be chosen for the Dragonslayers. Thousands of boys all over Zaibach train their entire lives just for the opportunity to try out to join. You didn't even have to take the test. You're lucky. The empress must think fondly of you."
"Yeah. Right." Daren sarcastically replied.
"That witch hates my guts."
"Don't call the Empress a witch. That's treason you know." Shin smugly commented.
"Like I care. They're going to kill me anyways. I might as well die with the last insulting word." Daren said as he tried to get comfortable on the thin matress.
"Why do you think they're going to kill you?" Keiji asked.
"For crying out loud, they flat out told me. Morons, they're all going straight to hell." He muttered under his breath.
"What a positive attitude!" Variel remarked, frowning at her new friend's pessimistic views.
"If your whole life was going down the drain, I don't think you'd be smiling either." Daren commented.
"What do you mean by that?" Asked another one of the slayers in their 20s, named Urei.
"I just got taken by a bunch of midgets from a battle where I was about to die. My family probably thinks I'm dead. I just found out that I have a cousin who has turned to the dark side. My other cousin's dead. The Mystic Moon where all my mother's family came from has been blown up. I know no one here except my pyro father-inlaw who wants my head on a platter. One of my best childhood friends just died in a filthy dungeon without ever making it home to his family who still thinks he's alive. My poor little son is probably terrified out of his mind that he's next in line for the throne. My wife probably has decided that I've gone to a better place and decided to move the children in with that blasted father of hers. And there's a war going on, that I'm supposed to be fighting. Does that answer your question?" Daren replied.
The Dragonslayers were silent.
"That's quite a long list." Variel whispered.
"You have a family?" Urei asked.
"I've never had a family." Keiji muttered.
"Just a squadron."
"Sorry Daren. We didn't know it was like that." Shin said, placing a hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him.
"It's all right. There's nothing you could have done anyways. I just need to find a way back to them. Back to Fanelia. Back to Mira..."
Shin sidled up to Variel and said, "Oh how I missed you so!" Taking his girlfriend in his arms and kissing her. Immitating Daren's anguish.
"Oh why do these things happen to me? It must be my rotten luck!" He proclaimed.
"Cut it out." Daren muttered.
"Sure, your highness." Shin replied, making a mock bow.
"To think, we're in the presence of royalty." Keiji said with amusement in his voice.
"Don't get all excited, being royalty isn't all it's cracked up to be." Daren said into his pillow, trying to drown out the voices.
"SHUT UP YOU CHILDREN! GO TO BED!" Dalet roared at them as they fell silent, one by one falling asleep.
"Don't worry Mira. Some how, some way, I'll return to you." Daren whispered to the still night.
"Aishiteru." And the raven haired angel fell into deep slumber...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Why do I continue this fic sooooooo long, It's a curse I guess. Don't get mad at me, I can't help it... * Ducks flying objects * Don't kill me!!!!!!! If you really hate long fics, don't read. I'll probably split this up once it's done, but I'm too lazy to do it now. Stupid ff.net, always screwed up, ugh... SOOO FRUSTRATING! Well, review, Arigatou and Sionara! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~
A/N: I thought the last chapter was OK, not sure about this one yet, guess I'll find out once I've written it...
I found it interesting when I looked up the names Daren and Mira to see what they meant, since I just made them up on the spur of the moment. Coincidental, ne?
'Your name of Daren gives you a clever mind, good business judgment, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation of the finer things of life. You are serious-minded and not inclined to make light of things even in little ways, and in your younger years you had more mature interests than others your age. Home and family mean a great deal to you and it is natural that you should desire the security of a peaceful, settled home environment where you can enjoy the companionship of family and friends. Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right. In the home you assume your responsibilities capably, having the self-confidence to form your own opinions and make your own decisions. Others can rely on you; once you have given your word you will do your utmost to fulfil a responsibility. However, there is a tendency to be a little too independent in your thinking and it is difficult for you to accept the help of others when you should. Due to your strong sense of responsibility, you could experience worry and mental turmoil through assuming more responsibility than you should. Friction could arise through others feeling that you were interfering with their rights and privileges, even though you are only trying to help.
Your first name of Mira has given you energy, drive, and ambition, but also an almost excessively strong-willed and independent nature. While you are creative, inventive, and ingenious in practical matters, and always ready to initiate and promote new undertakings, you often experience difficulty in bringing your undertakings to a successful conclusion because of your own changing interests or changing circumstances. You become intensely involved with everything you plan to do, but the stress arising from frustrating obstacles or misunderstandings with others could prompt you to be intolerant and sarcastic in your expression, with breakdowns in congenial relations with family and friends a possible end result. True relaxation and peace of mind are elusive under this name.'
I just thought that was cool... Completely unintentinally my characters are like their names. I'm a genius and I never even knew it! ^_^; * Everyone falls over as they sweatdrop *
I've repeated the terms a ton so look them up in the other chapters if you have no idea what I'm saying, here we go! Keep reviewing! Thanks and enjoy! ^_^
Chapter 38: Aishiteru
'I'm a dragon...' Daren thought in bewilderment. He just couldn't get used to this newfound bit of information.
'And I'm going to be put under Dilandau's command...' He shuddered at the thought.
'Surely he wouldn't kill his own son-inlaw?' Daren tried to tell himself. But it wasn't very good reassurance. He knew from the glint in Dilandau's eyes. He was a bloodthirsty killer. He'd do anything for what he believed in. Fire and death... That was all that mattered to him. His wife had mattered too, but that was a thing of the past...
"On your feet!" A guard barked.
"What's the rush?" Daren muttered as the guard kicked him from the cell, he eyed the girl in the cell next to his. She looked so vaguely familiar. He was sure he had seen her somewhere before, but he decided to ignore that for the present. He was led down a dark corridor, musty, smelling of damp earth and sweat. The floor was dirt, the ceiling was dirt, he was surrounded by various shades of brown.
The prisoners cried out as the guard passed.
"WATER!"
"PLEASE! HELP ME!"
"IS IT TIME?"
"YOU'LL NEVER TAME ME, YOU ZAIBACH SCUM!"
Many prayers were muttered, and Daren felt sick, seeing that many of the prisoners were dead, still lying on the cold ground. He vomited losing his last few day's worth of food, and the guard beat him with his club as he spurred him forward into the darkness...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"When's DAR-EN! Supposed to be here?" Dilandau asked Gatty, mocking Daren's name.
"He should be here anytime now sir. His discussion with Empress Memoria took longer than they originally thought." Gatty replied, standing at attention in front of his commander.
Dilandau swished his wine around in his glass, watching it with intensity. Wine was the color of his eyes, he had always liked wine. It soothed him. He had always sat up late at night with Folken and they had celebrated the day's triumphs with the alcoholic beverage. He had first had it when he was 12. He had slipped a bottle of wine out of Folken's private stores and had instantly loved the drink, stealing Folken's whenever possible. He had eventually been caught and Dilandau-Sama drinking wine had become an accepted fact. Dornkirk had always chatised Folken for it, saying it made the boy even more unstable and that Folken would lead to their downfall. Which in the end, was pretty accurate. But Dilandau doubted that the end of the glorious Zaibach empire was all on account of him drinking wine. He laughed softly and the Dragonslayers looked quite bewildered, not used to their general laughing in such a manner.
"Are you all right sir?" Chesta asked in concern. His cheek turned red as he was struck.
"That's none of your business! All of you! Out of my sight, NOW!" Dilandau sighed as they departed, Chesta rubbing his sore cheek.
"Incompetent fools..." He muttered as he stroked his scar.
"That's not the way to talk about your troops, now is it?" A nearby voice echoed into the darkness.
Dilandau instantly recognized the all-too-familiar voice of his son-inlaw.
"I don't have the time to deal with you right now. I'll kill you later." Dilandau murmured, going back into his state of endless waiting.
"You shouldn't threaten to kill one of your own soldiers." Daren replied, with a smug look.
"So she went through with it, ne?" Dilandau asked in pure boredom.
"Yeah, I guess." Daren replied thoughtfully.
"First lesson as a slayer..." Dilandau whispered as he grabbed Daren by his shirt collar and punched him in the face.
"My name is Dilandau-Sama. And I am general of Zaibach's most elite soldiers. The Dragonslayers are at my command, and at my mercy..." He shoved Daren against the wall, still holding him by the collar.
'One of the few advantages of these weird Fanelian shirts.' Dilandau thought to himself.
"Yes sir." Daren mumbled his face aching. He received a blow to the stomach.
"What was that?" Dilandau asked, taking great amusement out of this whole turn of events.
"Yes, Dilandau-Sama." Daren said more clearly, as he clutched his stomach.
"Good. I see we've reached an understanding. Dar-en!" He emphasized as he gave a satisfied smirk.
"You're dismissed." He muttered.
"DALET!"
"Yes, Dilandau-Sama?" Dalet asked as he raced into the room, giving his commander a dignifying bow.
"Take this new recruit and get him settled in. And Dalet?"
"Yes sir?" Dalet asked.
"If he causes any trouble, just do what I'd do."
"Yes sir." Dalet exited the room, Daren following behind. He shot Dilandau an angry glare over his shoulder as he headed out the doorway.
"Yes. Excellent." Dilandau's voice echoed in the empty room as the glass of wine dropped to the floor, shattering into thousands of pieces.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"This is the dorm, and this is where we train." Dalet told the boy standing behind him as he gestured to the various rooms.
"And that's the galley. Warning, don't try the mystery meat crap they give us." Dalet warned in a knowing voice.
"I'll be sure to remember that." Daren commented, looking around curiously.
"You'll be expected to train at least 5 hours a day. Breakfast at 6:00, training begins at 7:00, lunch at noon, dinner at 5:00. After dinner, the night is yours, unless we're in battle or otherwise instructed. You are not authorized in Lord Folken's or Lord Dilandau's private chambers."
"I could have figured that out by myself." Daren muttered in disgust, since this guy seemed to think he was a complete moron.
Dalet chose to ignore this remark and continued.
"These are the guys..." He heard an angry huff and turned red in embarrassment.
"Oh yeah, AND girls."
"That's better." A voice from the crowd replied.
"Guimel, Gatty, Chesta, Viole, Migel, REFINA..." He turned to look at the blonde pony-tailed girl who had interrupted him earlier.
"HOW old are you guys?" Daren asked in interest.
Refina looked even more angry at this remark and began socking Daren in the head.
"NEVER... smack ASK... punch ME... Stomach blow THAT... Hit square in the jaw AGAIN!" She angrily screamed at the quite bewildered Daren, who now had more injuries than he could count from the past few days.
"Okey dokey..." Daren replied, rubbing his sore jaw.
"You still fight pretty well for someone your age..." He said under his breath.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Refina screeched.
"Umm... Nothing... I was just saying how YOUNG you look..." Daren hastily added.
"That better have been all it was..." Refina muttered in contempt before going back to her original conversation with Chesta.
"These are our other new recruits..." Dalet tried to overlook the feud.
"Keiji, Shin, Variel, the only other girl slayer."
"And PROOOOOOUD of it!" Variel, the pink haired girl replied.
"Well... umm... yes..." Dalet muttered in frustration of always being interrupted by these annoying women.
"And that's pretty much it. There are other slayers, they just aren't around, probably out getting drunk or something..." Dalet remarked in obvious dislike for this younger generation of slayer.
"Well, perhaps I'll just have to go find them..." Daren commented as he raced from the room.
'I'll never get used to all this leather...' Daren thought. He had changed into his official Dragonslayer uniform, and it felt very confining although he looked quite good in it actually. While observing his outfit, he failed to notice he was about to collide with someone.
"Gomen nasai." He muttered as he rubbed his head. He knew he was gonna be hurting in the morning after such an abusive day.
"It's all right." A somewhat muffled voice replied as the figure continued down the hallway.
"Wait!" Daren called back to the mysterious person.
"Are you a Dragonslayer?"
"Yes and no." The shadowy person replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daren asked in impatience.
"I am not part of Dilandau-Sama's Dragonslayers, but I have slayed a dragon."
"You may call me Aishi." She turned away, Daren still not catching a glimpse of her masked face.
"Ok..." Daren muttered.
"Too many mysteries in my life. They just turn up, one after another..."
"Hey! Daren! The dorm's THIS way!" Variel called to the confused raven haired boy.
"Oh. Thanks." He called back, running in her direction.
The dorm seemed fairly simply, 15 cots, 15 lockers, a few bathrooms. He noticed that the girls got their own.
'It figures...' He thought.
It was themed in blue in black with Zaibach Insignia everywhere. Daren walked over to what he presumed was his locker and found in smelled.
"Yuck." He commented as the few Dragonslayers in the room laughed at their new found comrade's disdain for his storage space.
"Here." Keiji said, throwing him a bottle of some sort.
"What's this?" Daren asked in confusion.
"Ode de Dragon? You're giving me this dragon scent to spray all over my junk? I know from experience, dragons are not the best smelling creatures."
"Better than Ode de Bariu. He got killed the other day." Variel said, with regret in her voice.
"I must admit though, he needed a few more showers and quite a bit of deodorant."
"Great. I get the locker of a dead guy who smelled." Daren commented.
"Anything sounds bad when you say it with that attitude!" Shin commented, as he cleaned his sword, grinning at Daren.
"So how did you guys get roped into this job anyway?" Daren asked, flopping down on his stiff cot.
"We weren't 'roped into it!'" Variel exclaimed in fury.
"Don't you know what an honor it is to be chosen for the Dragonslayers. Thousands of boys all over Zaibach train their entire lives just for the opportunity to try out to join. You didn't even have to take the test. You're lucky. The empress must think fondly of you."
"Yeah. Right." Daren sarcastically replied.
"That witch hates my guts."
"Don't call the Empress a witch. That's treason you know." Shin smugly commented.
"Like I care. They're going to kill me anyways. I might as well die with the last insulting word." Daren said as he tried to get comfortable on the thin matress.
"Why do you think they're going to kill you?" Keiji asked.
"For crying out loud, they flat out told me. Morons, they're all going straight to hell." He muttered under his breath.
"What a positive attitude!" Variel remarked, frowning at her new friend's pessimistic views.
"If your whole life was going down the drain, I don't think you'd be smiling either." Daren commented.
"What do you mean by that?" Asked another one of the slayers in their 20s, named Urei.
"I just got taken by a bunch of midgets from a battle where I was about to die. My family probably thinks I'm dead. I just found out that I have a cousin who has turned to the dark side. My other cousin's dead. The Mystic Moon where all my mother's family came from has been blown up. I know no one here except my pyro father-inlaw who wants my head on a platter. One of my best childhood friends just died in a filthy dungeon without ever making it home to his family who still thinks he's alive. My poor little son is probably terrified out of his mind that he's next in line for the throne. My wife probably has decided that I've gone to a better place and decided to move the children in with that blasted father of hers. And there's a war going on, that I'm supposed to be fighting. Does that answer your question?" Daren replied.
The Dragonslayers were silent.
"That's quite a long list." Variel whispered.
"You have a family?" Urei asked.
"I've never had a family." Keiji muttered.
"Just a squadron."
"Sorry Daren. We didn't know it was like that." Shin said, placing a hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him.
"It's all right. There's nothing you could have done anyways. I just need to find a way back to them. Back to Fanelia. Back to Mira..."
Shin sidled up to Variel and said, "Oh how I missed you so!" Taking his girlfriend in his arms and kissing her. Immitating Daren's anguish.
"Oh why do these things happen to me? It must be my rotten luck!" He proclaimed.
"Cut it out." Daren muttered.
"Sure, your highness." Shin replied, making a mock bow.
"To think, we're in the presence of royalty." Keiji said with amusement in his voice.
"Don't get all excited, being royalty isn't all it's cracked up to be." Daren said into his pillow, trying to drown out the voices.
"SHUT UP YOU CHILDREN! GO TO BED!" Dalet roared at them as they fell silent, one by one falling asleep.
"Don't worry Mira. Some how, some way, I'll return to you." Daren whispered to the still night.
"Aishiteru." And the raven haired angel fell into deep slumber...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Why do I continue this fic sooooooo long, It's a curse I guess. Don't get mad at me, I can't help it... * Ducks flying objects * Don't kill me!!!!!!! If you really hate long fics, don't read. I'll probably split this up once it's done, but I'm too lazy to do it now. Stupid ff.net, always screwed up, ugh... SOOO FRUSTRATING! Well, review, Arigatou and Sionara! ^_^
~Trunks Gal~