Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or any of the characters. The
Characters that I add are of my own creation. Do not use them in
your own stories unless you have my permission.
Note: " " indicates speech, and indicates thought.
The Septor of the Dragons
Chapter 2: The Secret
By Coolchick1500
"What?! How could you be dying? You look perfectly healthy" Allen asked.
"I'm dying from a rare form of blood cancer" Hitomi said.
For the first few minutes, Van couldn't say anything. He was in shock. How could she be dying? Van thought.
"How is this possible?" Van asked.
"When I returned to earth, I went to America to Dani's house. I woke up one morning and I wasn't feeling very well, so I went to the doctor. He said it was just fatigue, and then sent me home. About a week later in gym class, while we were warming up for class, I passed out. They sent me to the nearest hospital, and I was in there for nearly three days. During that time, some doctors ran tests and they found out that I had a rare blood cancer. They said that the only thing that would trigger it was stress, but they couldn't figure out how that was related. My life was mostly stress free. My doctor told me that it was terminal and that there was no cure. He sent me home after telling me to take it really easy. He estimated that I only had three to six more years to live" Hitomi explained.
"How long ago was this?" Allen asked.
"A little less than two years" Hitomi replied.
She kept her eyes down on the ground. She didn't want to see the look on Van's face. She didn't want to see the sadness in his eyes.
"Hitomi look at me" Van ordered.
Her head didn't move. He took her hands and cupped her checks. He wiped away the tears that were so unknown to her. She was crying and she didn't know it. How could she not know she was crying? Over the past two years, crying became so natural to her that she didn't notice when she was crying. "It's going to be okay. Somehow, someway, we will find a way to cure it" Van said.
"There is no cure. No matter how much I want to believe that there is a cure, there isn't one. Everything that we tried just sped up the cancer" Hitomi said.
Tears spew from her eyes. Van hated to see his beloved in so much pain, but what could he do? He was helpless. He wanted to help her so much, but he knew deep in his mind that he couldn't. And it tore him apart.
"What else child?" Hitomi's grandmother asked.
"Mom, dad, you need to know a few things that happened while I was here the first time. You won't like most of them, but you have a right to know" Hitomi said.
"What happened Hitomi?" Her dad asked.
Van, Allen, and Hitomi explained to Hitomi's parents when happened while she was here the first time. By the time they had finished explaining, it was morning. The sun had started coming over the mountains. It had been twenty-four hours since Hitomi had gotten any sleep. Her body was screaming for it. Sleep. That's all her muscles and bones wanted. She got up and walked to and open window. Van stood up, stretched, and walked up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her in a warm, comforting embrace.
"Why don't I get you a guestroom, and you can sleep?" Van asked.
"That's okay. I'm not tired" Hitomi replied.
"That's not true. I see it in every move you make. Your body is about ready to fall over from exhaustion" Van said.
Hitomi turned, still in her lover's embrace and looked into his eyes. "Only if you promise to get some sleep too" Hitomi said.
"Promise" Van said.
Van released her, and went over to Chid. He then whispered something in his ear. Chid shook his head in agreement. Van came back over to his beloved, took her hand and led her to his guestroom. Once she entered the room, she looked around. The room was especially large with a queen size bad in the middle and two fairly large windows on two of the walls that didn't have a corridor or another room on the other side. The bed looked very inviting. The room was dark, considering the sun was up. The dark draperies hid the brightness of the sun. For that Hitomi was grateful. She found it impossible to sleep in a bright room. Van took her arm, and brought her over to the bed. She laid down on the bed and got comfortable in Van's arms. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up, she was still in Van's arms. Though she didn't know what time it was or what day it was, she was a little concerned for how long she slept. She shifted and tried to get out of Van's embrace without waking him up. Unfortunately, her attempt didn't work.
"Get some sleep" Van said.
"I did. I'm okay now. How long was I out?" Hitomi asked.
"All day yesterday and today" Van replied.
"Is it night outside?" Hitomi asked.
"Yeah" Van said.
"I was out for a day and a half!" Hitomi said.
"You sound shocked" Van said.
"I never expected to sleep that long" Hitomi said.
"Your body was drained. If you had stayed awake any longer, you probably would still be sleeping" Van said.
There was a sudden knock at the door. Hitomi sat up, and opened the door.
"Duke Chid, what are you doing here?" Hitomi asked.
"Some of my guards saw a pillar of blue light. It stretched up to the Mystic Moon; however, they don't know what came through" Chid said.
"Would you like me to check it out?" Hitomi asked.
"If you don't mind. If you encounter someone, you might know him or her. I don't want to send my guards and have them capture someone that is a friends of yours" Chid said.
Hitomi got the feeling that Chid was talking about what happened between his guards and herself, though he wouldn't bring himself to admit it. Hitomi looked back at Van, who shook his head in agreement. "Van and I will check it out" Hitomi said.
"Okay. Thank you" Chid said.
He left and Hitomi closed the door. Van got out of bed, and stretched. His red sleeveless shirt was off, and on the edge of the bed. Seeing this made Hitomi blush.
"How should we travel?" Van asked.
"I don't know. If people from earth came through, then they would be scared of your wings and the Escaflowne. I know we both don't want to walk" Hitomi said.
"What about horses?" Van asked.
"They would work. We have horses back on earth, and they wouldn't scare whomever it was that came through" Hitomi said.
Van put his shirt back on, and they walked to the stalls. They picked two horses and saddled them up. In less than ten minutes, they were off. The headed on the direction Chid had told them earlier. After an hour of riding, they found nothing. They stopped at a river to rest up, and let the horses rest, and get something to drink.
Hitomi laid down on the ground, and looked up at the stars. Her eyes fell on the Mystic Moon, and the regular moon. She suddenly heard someone yell. She sat up and looked at Van. Van pointed in the direction that the voice came from. Hitomi stood up and follow Van into the forest. In the middle of a clearing was a small campfire. There were two people around it. A teenage boy and girl.
"I don't care. Hitomi and her family have been missing for over two days. We're stuck only god knows where, and have you looked up at the sky lately. The earth is hanging with the moon" the girl yelled.
The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't figure out who it was.
"Take it easy Yukari. A solution will present itself when the time is right" the boy said.
"I'm scared Amano. I want to find Hitomi and her family and go home" Yukari said.
Hearing these names made Hitomi fell over. It's bad enough my family is here, but for Amano and Yukari to be here too. It's too much Hitomi thought.
"So you know them?" Van whispered.
"Yeah, but how'd you do that?" Hitomi asked.
"Ever since you came back the link has gotten stronger. I can hear your thoughts, just as you can hear mine" Van said.
Hitomi shrugged it off as she stood up.
"You know if you yell any louder, you're going to wake something up" Hitomi said.
"Who said that?" Yukari demanded.
Hitomi came out from behind the tree.
"How'd you find us?" Amano asked.
"A friend of mine told me that there was a pillar of blue light stretching up to the Mystic Moon. Van and I came to check it out" Hitomi said.
"Who's Van?" Yukari asked.
Van suddenly stepped out behind the bushes he was hiding behind. "Him" Hitomi said.
"He looks familiar" Amano said.
"I know what you mean" Yukari said.
Hitomi smiled. It had only been two years, but she could still remember seeing Van kill the dragon, for rite of succession. Yukari and Amano were with her that evening. They had seen Van, but Hitomi doubted they would remember what he looked like. Especially since Van had changed.
"We need to get back. These woods could be hiding Dilandau and his Dragonslayers" Van said.
Hitomi agreed. Yukari put out of the fire, and they walked back to the horses.
"It'll be dawn before we get back to the palace" Hitomi said.
"I know. When your parents wake up, they're going to have a fit" Van said.
"Let them, it is not like they can tell me what to do" Hitomi said.
"When are we going home?" Amano asked.
"You're going home when we can get you home" Hitomi said.
"What about you? Aren't you coming back?" Yukari asked.
"I doubt it" Hitomi said.
Van looked at her. You mean to tell me you're staying here? Van thought. Hitomi heard it. She shook her head as a response. Van smiled.
"You can't stay here. You have to go home!" Amano said.
"I don't have to go home. I have nothing there. Sure my family and friends will be on earth, but I'm so alone when I'm on earth" Hitomi said.
"We've noticed. Every since you came back from your disappearance, you've been so depressed. We would like to know why" Yukari said.
"When I first came here, all I thought was getting back home, but once I got home, my heart and soul was missing something" Hitomi said.
"You mean someone" Yukari said. Hitomi glanced back at her best friend.
"Yeah" Hitomi said.
"Do they know?" Van asked.
He wanted to know if Yukari and Amano knew I was dying.
"When I found out, they were the first ones I called" Hitomi said.
Yukari walked up to her best friend.
"I'm going to take a stab at this, and say the someone you were missing was Van?" She asked.
Hitomi smiled. Yukari could read her like an open book. "I love him, and he loves me. If I left again it would only hurt both of us in the long run. Since I only have a short time left to live, I was to spend it with the man I love" Hitomi said.
"Then I can only do one thing. And that is to wish you the best of luck" Yukari said.
"She's right. If you're so determined not to go home, we can't force you. I hope you have a good life here" Amano said.
"I don't want to hurt anyone" Hitomi said.
"You're not. You're making yourself happy, and that's all that matters" Yukari said.
Hitomi stopped. "What's wrong?" Van asked.
"I just have a bad feeling about something" Hitomi said.
A sudden picture of Zongi's face appeared in her mind.
"How possible would it be to get turned around?" Hitomi asked.
"Very possible. Why do you ask?" Van asked.
Hitomi took off running straight ahead. She stopped when she reached a stone temple. "Hitomi, why did..." Van's voice trailed off.
"What is this place?" Yukari asked.
Amano was behind her. Hitomi fell to the ground. The vision of Zongi's death fill her head. Van came over to his love, and bent down next to her. "Hitomi lets get out of here" Van said.
Van pulled her to her feet. "Hitomi please come back here" Yukari said.
The trees and bushes rustled. This caught Hitomi's attention. "Van, something's here" Hitomi said.
"What?" Van said, looking around.
Hitomi closed her eyes and relaxed. She pictured her pendant, and looked for something out of place. She found Dilandau's Guymelef. "Van, Dilandau's here" Hitomi whispered.
"Where?" Van asked.
His question was answered by a crima claw being shot towards the two lovers. Van's shirt tore as his angelic wings spread. He grabbed Hitomi and flew upward. The claw hit the ground.
"Well well, Van is a Draconian" Dilandau said.
"Yukari, Amano get to the horses and head east to the capital of Fried!" Van shouted.
Yukari and Amano got on the horses and the were off to the palace. Van flew up high in the sky with Hitomi in his arms. He took off after Yukari and Amano. Dilandau turned his invisible cloak off, and turned his guymelef into fly mode. Hitomi and Van caught up with Yukari and Amano in no time. Dilandau chased them. Once they reached the gates of the palace, Van landed on the ground, and set Hitomi down. Hitomi and Van ran over to Yukari and Amano, who were pounding on the palace gates.
"Let us through. As the King of Fanelia, I demand you let us through!" Van shouted.
The gates opened. Everyone ran inside. "What's going on?" Allen asked, coming over to us.
"Dilandau is chasing us, that's what's going on" Hitomi said.
They were all trying to catch their breath. Van ran off towards his guymelef. Within a minute, the Escaflowne was at the gates waiting for Dilandau's arrival. It took minutes before the gates exploded, showing Dilandau's Guymelef. "They're huge" Yukari said.
"I know" Amano said.
They were shocked at the size of the two machines. "Lord Van!" Merle shouted.
She came running up to Hitomi and her friends. "Everyone get inside!" Allen yelled.
Yukari, Amano and Merle all ran for the inside of the palace. Hitomi got up, and hit behind a pile of ruble. Out of the corner of his eye, Dilandau spotted the young seer(1). Dilandau quickly knocked Van off balance, and shot a stream of liquid metal towards Hitomi. Hitomi ran and tried to dodge the liquid metal. All of a sudden...
1) I'll use the word "Seer" instead of "Seeress." As far as I know there is no such
word as "Seeress."
~That was chapter 2. How did you like it? Was it any good? Please review. I don't care even if you flame me. I know that I left it at a really bad cliffhanger, and I also know that chapter 1 was a cliffhanger. I'll try not to put another cliffhanger in for a while. Thanks for reading my fan fic.~
Note: " " indicates speech, and indicates thought.
The Septor of the Dragons
Chapter 2: The Secret
By Coolchick1500
"What?! How could you be dying? You look perfectly healthy" Allen asked.
"I'm dying from a rare form of blood cancer" Hitomi said.
For the first few minutes, Van couldn't say anything. He was in shock. How could she be dying? Van thought.
"How is this possible?" Van asked.
"When I returned to earth, I went to America to Dani's house. I woke up one morning and I wasn't feeling very well, so I went to the doctor. He said it was just fatigue, and then sent me home. About a week later in gym class, while we were warming up for class, I passed out. They sent me to the nearest hospital, and I was in there for nearly three days. During that time, some doctors ran tests and they found out that I had a rare blood cancer. They said that the only thing that would trigger it was stress, but they couldn't figure out how that was related. My life was mostly stress free. My doctor told me that it was terminal and that there was no cure. He sent me home after telling me to take it really easy. He estimated that I only had three to six more years to live" Hitomi explained.
"How long ago was this?" Allen asked.
"A little less than two years" Hitomi replied.
She kept her eyes down on the ground. She didn't want to see the look on Van's face. She didn't want to see the sadness in his eyes.
"Hitomi look at me" Van ordered.
Her head didn't move. He took her hands and cupped her checks. He wiped away the tears that were so unknown to her. She was crying and she didn't know it. How could she not know she was crying? Over the past two years, crying became so natural to her that she didn't notice when she was crying. "It's going to be okay. Somehow, someway, we will find a way to cure it" Van said.
"There is no cure. No matter how much I want to believe that there is a cure, there isn't one. Everything that we tried just sped up the cancer" Hitomi said.
Tears spew from her eyes. Van hated to see his beloved in so much pain, but what could he do? He was helpless. He wanted to help her so much, but he knew deep in his mind that he couldn't. And it tore him apart.
"What else child?" Hitomi's grandmother asked.
"Mom, dad, you need to know a few things that happened while I was here the first time. You won't like most of them, but you have a right to know" Hitomi said.
"What happened Hitomi?" Her dad asked.
Van, Allen, and Hitomi explained to Hitomi's parents when happened while she was here the first time. By the time they had finished explaining, it was morning. The sun had started coming over the mountains. It had been twenty-four hours since Hitomi had gotten any sleep. Her body was screaming for it. Sleep. That's all her muscles and bones wanted. She got up and walked to and open window. Van stood up, stretched, and walked up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her in a warm, comforting embrace.
"Why don't I get you a guestroom, and you can sleep?" Van asked.
"That's okay. I'm not tired" Hitomi replied.
"That's not true. I see it in every move you make. Your body is about ready to fall over from exhaustion" Van said.
Hitomi turned, still in her lover's embrace and looked into his eyes. "Only if you promise to get some sleep too" Hitomi said.
"Promise" Van said.
Van released her, and went over to Chid. He then whispered something in his ear. Chid shook his head in agreement. Van came back over to his beloved, took her hand and led her to his guestroom. Once she entered the room, she looked around. The room was especially large with a queen size bad in the middle and two fairly large windows on two of the walls that didn't have a corridor or another room on the other side. The bed looked very inviting. The room was dark, considering the sun was up. The dark draperies hid the brightness of the sun. For that Hitomi was grateful. She found it impossible to sleep in a bright room. Van took her arm, and brought her over to the bed. She laid down on the bed and got comfortable in Van's arms. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up, she was still in Van's arms. Though she didn't know what time it was or what day it was, she was a little concerned for how long she slept. She shifted and tried to get out of Van's embrace without waking him up. Unfortunately, her attempt didn't work.
"Get some sleep" Van said.
"I did. I'm okay now. How long was I out?" Hitomi asked.
"All day yesterday and today" Van replied.
"Is it night outside?" Hitomi asked.
"Yeah" Van said.
"I was out for a day and a half!" Hitomi said.
"You sound shocked" Van said.
"I never expected to sleep that long" Hitomi said.
"Your body was drained. If you had stayed awake any longer, you probably would still be sleeping" Van said.
There was a sudden knock at the door. Hitomi sat up, and opened the door.
"Duke Chid, what are you doing here?" Hitomi asked.
"Some of my guards saw a pillar of blue light. It stretched up to the Mystic Moon; however, they don't know what came through" Chid said.
"Would you like me to check it out?" Hitomi asked.
"If you don't mind. If you encounter someone, you might know him or her. I don't want to send my guards and have them capture someone that is a friends of yours" Chid said.
Hitomi got the feeling that Chid was talking about what happened between his guards and herself, though he wouldn't bring himself to admit it. Hitomi looked back at Van, who shook his head in agreement. "Van and I will check it out" Hitomi said.
"Okay. Thank you" Chid said.
He left and Hitomi closed the door. Van got out of bed, and stretched. His red sleeveless shirt was off, and on the edge of the bed. Seeing this made Hitomi blush.
"How should we travel?" Van asked.
"I don't know. If people from earth came through, then they would be scared of your wings and the Escaflowne. I know we both don't want to walk" Hitomi said.
"What about horses?" Van asked.
"They would work. We have horses back on earth, and they wouldn't scare whomever it was that came through" Hitomi said.
Van put his shirt back on, and they walked to the stalls. They picked two horses and saddled them up. In less than ten minutes, they were off. The headed on the direction Chid had told them earlier. After an hour of riding, they found nothing. They stopped at a river to rest up, and let the horses rest, and get something to drink.
Hitomi laid down on the ground, and looked up at the stars. Her eyes fell on the Mystic Moon, and the regular moon. She suddenly heard someone yell. She sat up and looked at Van. Van pointed in the direction that the voice came from. Hitomi stood up and follow Van into the forest. In the middle of a clearing was a small campfire. There were two people around it. A teenage boy and girl.
"I don't care. Hitomi and her family have been missing for over two days. We're stuck only god knows where, and have you looked up at the sky lately. The earth is hanging with the moon" the girl yelled.
The voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't figure out who it was.
"Take it easy Yukari. A solution will present itself when the time is right" the boy said.
"I'm scared Amano. I want to find Hitomi and her family and go home" Yukari said.
Hearing these names made Hitomi fell over. It's bad enough my family is here, but for Amano and Yukari to be here too. It's too much Hitomi thought.
"So you know them?" Van whispered.
"Yeah, but how'd you do that?" Hitomi asked.
"Ever since you came back the link has gotten stronger. I can hear your thoughts, just as you can hear mine" Van said.
Hitomi shrugged it off as she stood up.
"You know if you yell any louder, you're going to wake something up" Hitomi said.
"Who said that?" Yukari demanded.
Hitomi came out from behind the tree.
"How'd you find us?" Amano asked.
"A friend of mine told me that there was a pillar of blue light stretching up to the Mystic Moon. Van and I came to check it out" Hitomi said.
"Who's Van?" Yukari asked.
Van suddenly stepped out behind the bushes he was hiding behind. "Him" Hitomi said.
"He looks familiar" Amano said.
"I know what you mean" Yukari said.
Hitomi smiled. It had only been two years, but she could still remember seeing Van kill the dragon, for rite of succession. Yukari and Amano were with her that evening. They had seen Van, but Hitomi doubted they would remember what he looked like. Especially since Van had changed.
"We need to get back. These woods could be hiding Dilandau and his Dragonslayers" Van said.
Hitomi agreed. Yukari put out of the fire, and they walked back to the horses.
"It'll be dawn before we get back to the palace" Hitomi said.
"I know. When your parents wake up, they're going to have a fit" Van said.
"Let them, it is not like they can tell me what to do" Hitomi said.
"When are we going home?" Amano asked.
"You're going home when we can get you home" Hitomi said.
"What about you? Aren't you coming back?" Yukari asked.
"I doubt it" Hitomi said.
Van looked at her. You mean to tell me you're staying here? Van thought. Hitomi heard it. She shook her head as a response. Van smiled.
"You can't stay here. You have to go home!" Amano said.
"I don't have to go home. I have nothing there. Sure my family and friends will be on earth, but I'm so alone when I'm on earth" Hitomi said.
"We've noticed. Every since you came back from your disappearance, you've been so depressed. We would like to know why" Yukari said.
"When I first came here, all I thought was getting back home, but once I got home, my heart and soul was missing something" Hitomi said.
"You mean someone" Yukari said. Hitomi glanced back at her best friend.
"Yeah" Hitomi said.
"Do they know?" Van asked.
He wanted to know if Yukari and Amano knew I was dying.
"When I found out, they were the first ones I called" Hitomi said.
Yukari walked up to her best friend.
"I'm going to take a stab at this, and say the someone you were missing was Van?" She asked.
Hitomi smiled. Yukari could read her like an open book. "I love him, and he loves me. If I left again it would only hurt both of us in the long run. Since I only have a short time left to live, I was to spend it with the man I love" Hitomi said.
"Then I can only do one thing. And that is to wish you the best of luck" Yukari said.
"She's right. If you're so determined not to go home, we can't force you. I hope you have a good life here" Amano said.
"I don't want to hurt anyone" Hitomi said.
"You're not. You're making yourself happy, and that's all that matters" Yukari said.
Hitomi stopped. "What's wrong?" Van asked.
"I just have a bad feeling about something" Hitomi said.
A sudden picture of Zongi's face appeared in her mind.
"How possible would it be to get turned around?" Hitomi asked.
"Very possible. Why do you ask?" Van asked.
Hitomi took off running straight ahead. She stopped when she reached a stone temple. "Hitomi, why did..." Van's voice trailed off.
"What is this place?" Yukari asked.
Amano was behind her. Hitomi fell to the ground. The vision of Zongi's death fill her head. Van came over to his love, and bent down next to her. "Hitomi lets get out of here" Van said.
Van pulled her to her feet. "Hitomi please come back here" Yukari said.
The trees and bushes rustled. This caught Hitomi's attention. "Van, something's here" Hitomi said.
"What?" Van said, looking around.
Hitomi closed her eyes and relaxed. She pictured her pendant, and looked for something out of place. She found Dilandau's Guymelef. "Van, Dilandau's here" Hitomi whispered.
"Where?" Van asked.
His question was answered by a crima claw being shot towards the two lovers. Van's shirt tore as his angelic wings spread. He grabbed Hitomi and flew upward. The claw hit the ground.
"Well well, Van is a Draconian" Dilandau said.
"Yukari, Amano get to the horses and head east to the capital of Fried!" Van shouted.
Yukari and Amano got on the horses and the were off to the palace. Van flew up high in the sky with Hitomi in his arms. He took off after Yukari and Amano. Dilandau turned his invisible cloak off, and turned his guymelef into fly mode. Hitomi and Van caught up with Yukari and Amano in no time. Dilandau chased them. Once they reached the gates of the palace, Van landed on the ground, and set Hitomi down. Hitomi and Van ran over to Yukari and Amano, who were pounding on the palace gates.
"Let us through. As the King of Fanelia, I demand you let us through!" Van shouted.
The gates opened. Everyone ran inside. "What's going on?" Allen asked, coming over to us.
"Dilandau is chasing us, that's what's going on" Hitomi said.
They were all trying to catch their breath. Van ran off towards his guymelef. Within a minute, the Escaflowne was at the gates waiting for Dilandau's arrival. It took minutes before the gates exploded, showing Dilandau's Guymelef. "They're huge" Yukari said.
"I know" Amano said.
They were shocked at the size of the two machines. "Lord Van!" Merle shouted.
She came running up to Hitomi and her friends. "Everyone get inside!" Allen yelled.
Yukari, Amano and Merle all ran for the inside of the palace. Hitomi got up, and hit behind a pile of ruble. Out of the corner of his eye, Dilandau spotted the young seer(1). Dilandau quickly knocked Van off balance, and shot a stream of liquid metal towards Hitomi. Hitomi ran and tried to dodge the liquid metal. All of a sudden...
1) I'll use the word "Seer" instead of "Seeress." As far as I know there is no such
word as "Seeress."
~That was chapter 2. How did you like it? Was it any good? Please review. I don't care even if you flame me. I know that I left it at a really bad cliffhanger, and I also know that chapter 1 was a cliffhanger. I'll try not to put another cliffhanger in for a while. Thanks for reading my fan fic.~