Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne. I never have and I never will!
The Scepter of the Dragons Chapter 20: More pieces of the puzzle By Coolchick1500
Hitomi entered her room. "What's wrong?" Van asked.
"Nothing. Just something of interest" Hitomi said.
"Such as?" Van asked.
"Nothing. I'll tell you in the morning. I'm too tired to tell you now," Hitomi said.
"Okay, but you know I'll be asking the first thing in the morning," Van said.
"I know" Hitomi said as she laid down on the bed.
She snuggled closer and closer to Van. Almost as if she was afraid something would happen to him. Van wrapped his arms around Hitomi as if knowing that she was scared. As sleep came to Hitomi, the conversation between Aklen and Tyler replayed in her mind.
Hitomi woke up the next morning to see Van missing. She got out of bed and got dressed. She wore a plain azure dress. She brushed her hair and wore it down. Before she left the room, Hitomi slipped on a pair of ivory shoes.
Hitomi ran into Yukari and Amano, who were also walking down to eat a late breakfast. "I've got to talk to you two in private later on," Hitomi said.
"About what?" Amano asked.
"Let's just say it'll be a shocker" Hitomi said.
They sat down, none of them talking through breakfast. Hitomi wasn't hungry and only ate a few pieces of toast. Yukari, Amano and Hitomi were walking outside. They went behind the castle, closer to the forest. "So, what's up?" Yukari asked.
"I found out something very interesting while in Canzaraka" Hitomi said.
"Oh really? What is it?" Amano asked.
"I'm pregnant," Hitomi said quietly.
"I'm happy for you, but Hitomi!" Yukari hissed.
"What?" Hitomi asked.
"Well, no need to ask who the father is" Amano said.
"We all know it's Van, Amano" Yukari eyed him
"Have you told him yet?" Another voice came from a tree.
Hitomi cringed knowing it was Merle. "No, not yet. Besides, I don't know how to tell him" Hitomi said.
"You have to tell Lord Van. If you don't it'll could lead to trouble later on" Merle said.
She hoped out of the tree.
"I know I HAVE to tell him. I just don't know how or when" Hitomi said.
"Well, I suggest you do it when you're alone and that there is no one else around" Amano said.
"I know" Hitomi said.
She unconsciously laid a hand on her stomach. "If you don't tell him soon, he'll find out for himself. You're going to start showing soon," Merle said.
"I just don't know how to tell him" Hitomi complained.
"Tell who, what?" A voice from behind asked.
Hitomi spun on her heel. It was Van. "Impeccable timing" Yukari's sarcasm made Hitomi smirk.
"We'll leave you two alone," Amano said. He grabbed Yukari's hand and Merle's tail and drug them down the hill.
"You can't" Hitomi hissed as Merle went by.
"Tell us how it goes" Yukari yelled up the hill
"Tell who, what?" Van asked again.
"Umm, well." Hitomi started.
"By your hesitation I can only guess it has something to do with you" Van said.
"It's about both of us, actually. This is really hard for me to tell you this. So don't say a word until I'm finished,"
"Promise"
"Okay, I.uh.I'm pregnant"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Marina gave me a test two days ago"
"This is wonderful news!" Van hugged Hitomi.
"Are you still going to let me do what I wanna do?" Hitomi asked.
"Depends" Van said.
"On?"
"What you want to do" Van said.
"Well, I was think about learning the sword, training with the men" Hitomi said.
"Never in a million years" Van said.
"Meany" Hitomi squeaked.
"I'm serious," Van said.
"Actually I was kinda being serious. I want to learn how to fight" Hitomi said.
"No. You're pregnant. Besides no one would be willing to train you," Van said.
"I could think of someone" Hitomi said.
"Who?" Van asked.
"You" "No. Now maybe I'll train you after the baby is born, but not until then"
"Come on" Hitomi was begging.
"No. I'm not changing my mind"
"Fine" Hitomi said.
"Don't worry. Time will fly by" Van said.
"Lord Van, Lady Hitomi, guess who's back" Larson yelled up the hill.
"Judging by the way your face is twisted and by the sound of your voice, whoever it is can't be good" Hitomi said.
"Balcifer's back" Larson solemn face made Hitomi uneasy.
"No, he can't be" Hitomi said.
"I'm afraid it's true. He wishes to see you two immediately," Larson said.
"Great" Van said.
Hitomi started walking down the hill. "Wait up!" Van said.
But Hitomi kept walking. She hated the fact that Balcifer was back. He wanted her dead! The fact that he was back, made cold chills go down her spine. As she entered the castle, she ran into her mother. "Hitomi, I need to talk to you" Mrs. Kanzaki said.
"Mom, I'm sorry, but there's something that I have to take care of. It'll have to wait for a few hours," Hitomi said.
"Is it that important?" Mrs. Kanzaki asked.
"It's life or death," Hitomi said as she walked off.
She also ran into Dryden. "Hitomi, Balcifer's back" He said.
"I know. That's where I'm going now," Hitomi said.
"He's in the Council Room" Dryden said.
"Thank you" Hitomi said. She entered the Council Room minutes later. "What the hell do you think you're doing back here?" Hitomi demanded.
"I'm here to see you and Lord Van, seer," Balcifer said.
Hitomi blood ran cold. He knew. He knew that Hitomi was the seer from the Mystic Moon. She dreaded this day. "You thought I would never find out, but I have. It's only a matter of time before you die at my hand" Balcifer said.
"I'm not afraid of you. You can threaten me all you like, but I will never be frightened by you or your threats" Hitomi said.
"They aren't threats child. They are telling the truth. You will die and at my hand" Balcifer said.
"Only in your dreams" Hitomi said.
"Well my dreams will soon become a reality," Balcifer said.
"I disagree with that" Van stood in the doorway.
"You can't protect her forever. You'll die trying" Balcifer said.
"Then so be it" Van said.
"Soon the scepter will be in my hands and you will all bow at my feet. Fate will be mine" Balcifer said.
"You can't control fate, nor can you create it. That was Dornkirk's biggest mistake. He thought he could, but he couldn't. And that mistake led him to his death" Hitomi said.
"A killing that you committed" Balcifer said.
"How did I kill Dornkirk?" Hitomi demanded.
"If you hadn't come to Gaea, he would still be alive. And he would be ruling Gaea" Balcifer said.
"No he wouldn't have. He still would have died" The voice of Folken ran through the room.
A ghostly image appeared in the room. "You! You're a traitor as well," Balcifer said. "Call me what you will, but Dornkirk was destined to die" Folken said.
"No, his destiny was to rule Gaea. I will not discuss this any further. You will die child, and at my hand. There is nothing you can do to change that" Balcifer stomped out of the room.
Hitomi sighed in relief. "Don't be afraid Hitomi. He won't hurt you" Van said.
"I'm not afraid of what he'll do to me. I'm afraid of what he could do to my baby" Hitomi said.
"You're pregnant? Well, it looks like you and Van had a little too much fun" Folken said.
"Folken!" Hitomi shouted then blushing.
Folken grinned. "Good luck you too," Folken said before disappearing.
Hitomi walked outside and asked a soldier to find Aklen and Tyler and to ask them to get down to the room.
Ten minutes had passed before they were both down here. "What do you want?" Aklen asked.
"What keys?" Hitomi asked.
All of the blood drained from, Aklen's face. "We don't know what you're talking about" Tyler said.
"Don't play stupid. I heard the conversation between you and Aklen last night. It was something about some keys that unlocked the scepter. Now I'll ask again what keys?" Hitomi asked.
"This keys are pieces to a puzzle. There's six in all. Five of which can be easily found, but the sixth one was lost forty-five years ago. It disappeared from Gaea. No one knows where it is" Tyler elucidated.
"What of the other five keys? You said that they could easily be found. Where can we find them?" Van asked.
"Supposedly there are six people are the keys holders and protectors. If we find the people to protect and hold the keys, we'll find the keys" Aklen said.
"Where are the five people?" Hitomi asked. "Think about it Lady Hitomi. Five people came here from the Mystic Moon" Tyler said.
"No, how can Micah, Tess, Kevin, Tom, and Adam be the holder-slash- protectors for these keys?" Hitomi asked.
"Years after I had hidden the scepter, a descendant of mine, your ancestor, went looking for the scepter. Five other people accompanied him. They had found the scepter, but something happened. They locked away the scepter using six keys. Your friends are the descendants of the people who accompanied your ancestor. The keys had been passed down generation to generation. The same thing should have happened with the sixth key, but like I said it was lost" Tyler said.
"Do my friends have the keys with them?" Hitomi asked.
"They should" Aklen said.
"How do you know of this, Aklen" Van asked.
"Tyler told me so," Aklen said.
Hitomi walked down to the dungeon. "Well, well. You finally remembered we were down here," Tess said.
"Give it a rest Tess. I want to know if all of you have something that your mom or dad gave you? A family heirloom or something that your family treasured?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes we all do. So does Adam" Kevin said.
Hitomi picked the lock and the four of them followed her back to the Council Room. "Is Adam still in the infirmary?" Hitomi asked.
"I believe so," Van said.
Hitomi walked down to the infirmary. Marina greeted her. "How are you?" Marina asked.
"I'm fine. Where is Adam?" Hitomi asked.
"In the corner" Marina said.
Hitomi walked over to Adam. "Adam do you have something that your mom or dad gave you?" Hitomi asked. "Yeah. It's small, but my dad said that it was the key to either destruction or peace" Adam said.
"May I see it?" Hitomi asked.
"Certainly" Adam pulled out a small skeleton key from his pocket. It was pink key. "Mom said something about it meaning 'love.' I never did figure it out," Adam said.
Hitomi looked at the shaft of the key. It was solid and the end was round. The round end was the size of a dime. On the end, she saw a little insignia of a heart. The word 'love' was chiseled in on the handle. "Do you mind if I keep this for a while? I think it might help a problem I'm having" Hitomi asked.
"Sure, just don't lose it" Adam said.
"Thank you" Hitomi ran out of the room to go show Van and the others what she had found.
~Well, it looks like the plot thickens. How did you like this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 21, which is being worked on now, should be out in the next couple of days. Enjoy! That's all for now! CYA!~
The Scepter of the Dragons Chapter 20: More pieces of the puzzle By Coolchick1500
Hitomi entered her room. "What's wrong?" Van asked.
"Nothing. Just something of interest" Hitomi said.
"Such as?" Van asked.
"Nothing. I'll tell you in the morning. I'm too tired to tell you now," Hitomi said.
"Okay, but you know I'll be asking the first thing in the morning," Van said.
"I know" Hitomi said as she laid down on the bed.
She snuggled closer and closer to Van. Almost as if she was afraid something would happen to him. Van wrapped his arms around Hitomi as if knowing that she was scared. As sleep came to Hitomi, the conversation between Aklen and Tyler replayed in her mind.
Hitomi woke up the next morning to see Van missing. She got out of bed and got dressed. She wore a plain azure dress. She brushed her hair and wore it down. Before she left the room, Hitomi slipped on a pair of ivory shoes.
Hitomi ran into Yukari and Amano, who were also walking down to eat a late breakfast. "I've got to talk to you two in private later on," Hitomi said.
"About what?" Amano asked.
"Let's just say it'll be a shocker" Hitomi said.
They sat down, none of them talking through breakfast. Hitomi wasn't hungry and only ate a few pieces of toast. Yukari, Amano and Hitomi were walking outside. They went behind the castle, closer to the forest. "So, what's up?" Yukari asked.
"I found out something very interesting while in Canzaraka" Hitomi said.
"Oh really? What is it?" Amano asked.
"I'm pregnant," Hitomi said quietly.
"I'm happy for you, but Hitomi!" Yukari hissed.
"What?" Hitomi asked.
"Well, no need to ask who the father is" Amano said.
"We all know it's Van, Amano" Yukari eyed him
"Have you told him yet?" Another voice came from a tree.
Hitomi cringed knowing it was Merle. "No, not yet. Besides, I don't know how to tell him" Hitomi said.
"You have to tell Lord Van. If you don't it'll could lead to trouble later on" Merle said.
She hoped out of the tree.
"I know I HAVE to tell him. I just don't know how or when" Hitomi said.
"Well, I suggest you do it when you're alone and that there is no one else around" Amano said.
"I know" Hitomi said.
She unconsciously laid a hand on her stomach. "If you don't tell him soon, he'll find out for himself. You're going to start showing soon," Merle said.
"I just don't know how to tell him" Hitomi complained.
"Tell who, what?" A voice from behind asked.
Hitomi spun on her heel. It was Van. "Impeccable timing" Yukari's sarcasm made Hitomi smirk.
"We'll leave you two alone," Amano said. He grabbed Yukari's hand and Merle's tail and drug them down the hill.
"You can't" Hitomi hissed as Merle went by.
"Tell us how it goes" Yukari yelled up the hill
"Tell who, what?" Van asked again.
"Umm, well." Hitomi started.
"By your hesitation I can only guess it has something to do with you" Van said.
"It's about both of us, actually. This is really hard for me to tell you this. So don't say a word until I'm finished,"
"Promise"
"Okay, I.uh.I'm pregnant"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes. Marina gave me a test two days ago"
"This is wonderful news!" Van hugged Hitomi.
"Are you still going to let me do what I wanna do?" Hitomi asked.
"Depends" Van said.
"On?"
"What you want to do" Van said.
"Well, I was think about learning the sword, training with the men" Hitomi said.
"Never in a million years" Van said.
"Meany" Hitomi squeaked.
"I'm serious," Van said.
"Actually I was kinda being serious. I want to learn how to fight" Hitomi said.
"No. You're pregnant. Besides no one would be willing to train you," Van said.
"I could think of someone" Hitomi said.
"Who?" Van asked.
"You" "No. Now maybe I'll train you after the baby is born, but not until then"
"Come on" Hitomi was begging.
"No. I'm not changing my mind"
"Fine" Hitomi said.
"Don't worry. Time will fly by" Van said.
"Lord Van, Lady Hitomi, guess who's back" Larson yelled up the hill.
"Judging by the way your face is twisted and by the sound of your voice, whoever it is can't be good" Hitomi said.
"Balcifer's back" Larson solemn face made Hitomi uneasy.
"No, he can't be" Hitomi said.
"I'm afraid it's true. He wishes to see you two immediately," Larson said.
"Great" Van said.
Hitomi started walking down the hill. "Wait up!" Van said.
But Hitomi kept walking. She hated the fact that Balcifer was back. He wanted her dead! The fact that he was back, made cold chills go down her spine. As she entered the castle, she ran into her mother. "Hitomi, I need to talk to you" Mrs. Kanzaki said.
"Mom, I'm sorry, but there's something that I have to take care of. It'll have to wait for a few hours," Hitomi said.
"Is it that important?" Mrs. Kanzaki asked.
"It's life or death," Hitomi said as she walked off.
She also ran into Dryden. "Hitomi, Balcifer's back" He said.
"I know. That's where I'm going now," Hitomi said.
"He's in the Council Room" Dryden said.
"Thank you" Hitomi said. She entered the Council Room minutes later. "What the hell do you think you're doing back here?" Hitomi demanded.
"I'm here to see you and Lord Van, seer," Balcifer said.
Hitomi blood ran cold. He knew. He knew that Hitomi was the seer from the Mystic Moon. She dreaded this day. "You thought I would never find out, but I have. It's only a matter of time before you die at my hand" Balcifer said.
"I'm not afraid of you. You can threaten me all you like, but I will never be frightened by you or your threats" Hitomi said.
"They aren't threats child. They are telling the truth. You will die and at my hand" Balcifer said.
"Only in your dreams" Hitomi said.
"Well my dreams will soon become a reality," Balcifer said.
"I disagree with that" Van stood in the doorway.
"You can't protect her forever. You'll die trying" Balcifer said.
"Then so be it" Van said.
"Soon the scepter will be in my hands and you will all bow at my feet. Fate will be mine" Balcifer said.
"You can't control fate, nor can you create it. That was Dornkirk's biggest mistake. He thought he could, but he couldn't. And that mistake led him to his death" Hitomi said.
"A killing that you committed" Balcifer said.
"How did I kill Dornkirk?" Hitomi demanded.
"If you hadn't come to Gaea, he would still be alive. And he would be ruling Gaea" Balcifer said.
"No he wouldn't have. He still would have died" The voice of Folken ran through the room.
A ghostly image appeared in the room. "You! You're a traitor as well," Balcifer said. "Call me what you will, but Dornkirk was destined to die" Folken said.
"No, his destiny was to rule Gaea. I will not discuss this any further. You will die child, and at my hand. There is nothing you can do to change that" Balcifer stomped out of the room.
Hitomi sighed in relief. "Don't be afraid Hitomi. He won't hurt you" Van said.
"I'm not afraid of what he'll do to me. I'm afraid of what he could do to my baby" Hitomi said.
"You're pregnant? Well, it looks like you and Van had a little too much fun" Folken said.
"Folken!" Hitomi shouted then blushing.
Folken grinned. "Good luck you too," Folken said before disappearing.
Hitomi walked outside and asked a soldier to find Aklen and Tyler and to ask them to get down to the room.
Ten minutes had passed before they were both down here. "What do you want?" Aklen asked.
"What keys?" Hitomi asked.
All of the blood drained from, Aklen's face. "We don't know what you're talking about" Tyler said.
"Don't play stupid. I heard the conversation between you and Aklen last night. It was something about some keys that unlocked the scepter. Now I'll ask again what keys?" Hitomi asked.
"This keys are pieces to a puzzle. There's six in all. Five of which can be easily found, but the sixth one was lost forty-five years ago. It disappeared from Gaea. No one knows where it is" Tyler elucidated.
"What of the other five keys? You said that they could easily be found. Where can we find them?" Van asked.
"Supposedly there are six people are the keys holders and protectors. If we find the people to protect and hold the keys, we'll find the keys" Aklen said.
"Where are the five people?" Hitomi asked. "Think about it Lady Hitomi. Five people came here from the Mystic Moon" Tyler said.
"No, how can Micah, Tess, Kevin, Tom, and Adam be the holder-slash- protectors for these keys?" Hitomi asked.
"Years after I had hidden the scepter, a descendant of mine, your ancestor, went looking for the scepter. Five other people accompanied him. They had found the scepter, but something happened. They locked away the scepter using six keys. Your friends are the descendants of the people who accompanied your ancestor. The keys had been passed down generation to generation. The same thing should have happened with the sixth key, but like I said it was lost" Tyler said.
"Do my friends have the keys with them?" Hitomi asked.
"They should" Aklen said.
"How do you know of this, Aklen" Van asked.
"Tyler told me so," Aklen said.
Hitomi walked down to the dungeon. "Well, well. You finally remembered we were down here," Tess said.
"Give it a rest Tess. I want to know if all of you have something that your mom or dad gave you? A family heirloom or something that your family treasured?" Hitomi asked.
"Yes we all do. So does Adam" Kevin said.
Hitomi picked the lock and the four of them followed her back to the Council Room. "Is Adam still in the infirmary?" Hitomi asked.
"I believe so," Van said.
Hitomi walked down to the infirmary. Marina greeted her. "How are you?" Marina asked.
"I'm fine. Where is Adam?" Hitomi asked.
"In the corner" Marina said.
Hitomi walked over to Adam. "Adam do you have something that your mom or dad gave you?" Hitomi asked. "Yeah. It's small, but my dad said that it was the key to either destruction or peace" Adam said.
"May I see it?" Hitomi asked.
"Certainly" Adam pulled out a small skeleton key from his pocket. It was pink key. "Mom said something about it meaning 'love.' I never did figure it out," Adam said.
Hitomi looked at the shaft of the key. It was solid and the end was round. The round end was the size of a dime. On the end, she saw a little insignia of a heart. The word 'love' was chiseled in on the handle. "Do you mind if I keep this for a while? I think it might help a problem I'm having" Hitomi asked.
"Sure, just don't lose it" Adam said.
"Thank you" Hitomi ran out of the room to go show Van and the others what she had found.
~Well, it looks like the plot thickens. How did you like this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it. Chapter 21, which is being worked on now, should be out in the next couple of days. Enjoy! That's all for now! CYA!~