AN: Whheee, chapter 13!!!!
1 Megumi of the Moon-sorry 'bout those cliffhangers, they're irresistible ^_^""
Kouhei-Thank you for the reviews in my other stories, Megumi as well! I'm sorry to say that when my computer crashed I lost those chapters, and may have to rewrite them. As well, I also wrote most of them with a friend I no longer get together with as much as I'd like to. Therefore, updates in those stories may be few and far between. My deepest apologies, but the ones most affected would be Past Loves and my Gundam Wing one ;-;
" Let me make this perfectly clear. I. Am. Not. Getting. MARRIED!" Van shouted, slamming his hands onto the table. Ever since the preparations for war had begun, his advisors had been hounding him more than ever to find a princess. 'Gods, why can't they just leave me alone???' One of his older advisors stood up.
" My lord, I know you don't want to admit it, but perhaps this refusal of marriage is because of that witch from the Mystic Moon?" Van clenched his fists and his teeth together. 'Murder is bad, murder is bad…'
" You must remember my Lord, she is the one who left. If you continue to obsess over that…that…un-proper whore, then you'll just bring this kingdom to-" Van stood up, his chair tipping over, eyes flashing.
" What did you just call her?" Allen stood, tense, his jaw muscles twitching. The advisor backed down, gulping slightly.
" But…but my lord…she is from the Mystic Moon! All people from there are cursed!" Frowning, Van forced himself to speak quietly.
" Unless your mind fails you, so also are Draconians. And are you prepared to say that the Seeress was also cursed, when she saved the entire planet?" The last few words were stressed, and his muscles ached from the effort not to draw his sword on the man. Nervously, the advisor shook his head, sitting down again.
" This meeting is over." Storming out of the room, Van gripped his sword sheath and nearly ran to the training hall. He needed to beat something up.
" Well, that didn't go very well," Allen commented, glaring at the advisors. They glanced at one another.
" We just want our king to have an heir in case he…well…falls in battle." Allen raised his eyebrow.
" Are you suggesting that Van will die?" The advisor cringed, shaking his head.
" No, no of course not! It's just a precaution, that's all!" Allen shook his head, walking out of the room.
" I'm going to talk to Van. You're lucky he didn't kill you." Slamming the door behind him, Allen took his time going to the training hall. He knew Van would need a few minutes to calm down, at the very least. He sighed. 'As much as I hate to admit it, the advisors are right on a few points. Van did need a Queen, and Fanelia needed an heir to the throne. Van wasn't invincible, and this time Hitomi isn't around to save him. He's also distracted, thinking about Rose. It's the same as it was with Hitomi.' He allowed a small chuckle to escape. The young King would never learn.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose was facing a dilemma. 'Stay the same, or change so nobody recognizes me…stay the same…change….' Tapping her chin, she stared pensively into the full-length mirror that had been brought in from Fried. 'I'm a part of Zaibach now, which means I'll have to fight, most likely. That means I could meet him again. And if he recognizes me…' She frowned, tapping her foot. Making her decision, she flopped into a chair.
" First of all, I need to come up with the things I want…" Calling a piece of paper, a quill and ink to her, she began to write. "Hm…hair has to change….let's make it…flaming red…I always wanted that anyway…paler skin…slightly taller….' She smirked to herself as she dipped her quill into the ink.
A few minutes later she was done. Glancing at the list one more time, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, putting her finger straight to her head.
" Now or never…." Concentrating on the image of herself after her alterations, Rose clenched her teeth.
" Change!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Naria was headed to Roses' room when she heard a loud and painful cry coming from her room. Blinking, she paused momentarily before running to Rose. Opening the door, Naria nearly fell over when she saw what happened.
" Owowowowowowowwoo ouch!!!" A woman was sitting on the floor rubbing her head, wincing, with her legs splayed out. The air crackled with electricity, and Narias' fur was standing on edge because of it. Naria cautiously approached the lady.
" Who are you, and what have you done with Lady Rose?" The woman groaned, pushing herself to her feet. Then she blinked at her.
" You mean it worked? YES!! Scccoorreee!!!!!!" She took a look at Naria's expression and fell silent, coughing and rubbing the back of her head.
" It's me, Naria. It's Rose." Naria raised her eyebrows. 'If she thinks that I'm going to fall for that, she has another thing coming.' The person sighed, rubbing her forehead.
" I decided I needed a change in appearance, that's all. Don't worry about it Naria, I'm still the 'Sorceress of Zaibach.'" Snorting, Naria rolled her eyes.
" Fine then. If you're Rose, then tell me why you left Fanelia?" The girl frowned, crossing her arms. 'Hah, I got her!' Naria grinned smugly, tilting her head.
" Well then, now that we've proved you wrong, I have to bring you to Lord-"
" I ran away." Naria blinked, eyes widening at the woman's interruption.
" What?" Come to think of it, Rose sounded almost exactly like her. But this persons voice was…smoother, deeper almost, but not quite. It also contained an accent that she couldn't quite place.
" I ran away because the boy king was immature and foolish, and he insulted me. I didn't feel the need to stay, so I ran away. Your soldiers caught me, and they brought me here. And then the sorcerers did this." Then her cloak did something odd. It split in two and each part flared out. Naria's jaw dropped. 'Gods, those are wings!'
" Rose?" She nodded, smiling slightly. It sent a chill down Naria's back, and she bowed her head.
" Please accept my apologies, Lady." A cold hand descended on her shoulder, and Naria had to fight the urge to run away. Something about this woman was terrifying. She wasn't quite Rose anymore.
" Don't worry about it. I'm going to oversee my armies. Tell Folken about this, and instruct him to meet me at the arena." Naria nodded, and the hand left her shoulder. 'She acts different as well…not stuck-up, but confident to a large degree. Whatever Rose did…she's different.'
" She what?" Folken stood from his chair, and Naria sighed.
" She told me to instruct you to meet her at the arena. She also said she was looking over 'her' armies." Folken paced as Naria knelt, watching him. Rubbing his forehead, Folken sighed.
" Did you check?" Naria nodded, frowning slightly.
" She has the sword with her. As soon as she left, I searched her room again. You don't think that…" Folken shook his head to her unasked question.
" I don't think anymore. I know. She's who they're looking for. And no matter how long we keep her here, she'll return to them. I just hope that history doesn't repeat itself. She won't be the only one to suffer if it does." Naria watched as Folken sat down again, rubbing his forehead. Walking up to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
" You're still worried about him, aren't you?" Folken glanced up. Chuckling, he nodded.
" A few of his braver advisors contacted me." Pulling a letter out of his cloak, he handed it to her. Naria skimmed it briefly, frowning. Ever since Folken had come back, he 'won over' a few of the Fanelian advisors to tell him how his younger brother was doing every month. This time, the letter changed it's topic a paragraph into it.
" They must be insane. He would never agree to what they're asking."
" He doesn't know. And he won't know until after everything settles down. They haven't told him, and nobody knows of their plans except themselves. And now only you and I know. This can go no further than the two of us." Naria's frown deepened.
" Shouldn't we tell-" Trailing, off, Naria answered her own question. Shrugging, she smiled.
" Oh well. I suppose they'd get used to one another eventually." Nodding, Folken started laughing again.
" You realize that they'll probably try to kill us when they find out, right Naria?" Naria smiled at Folken and joined in his laughter.
" Yes…they probably will, for a few moments."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The room itself was fairly simple. It was large and cavernous, with a vaulted ceiling and stone walls, but other than that it would have fit in to any home. Large wooden tables sported piles upon piles of thick leather- bound books with dust and dirt-encrusted covers. If you touched one, a poof of dust would fly into the air, giving a silent testimony to their age. 'And as they say on the Old Home…with age comes wisdom.' A man moved back from a table, cleaning his hands in a natural spring just large enough to contain both of his hands.
He turned and smiled, looking at the thing on the table of him. It mewed, moving it's new arms and legs, wings stretching out as far as possible. Bits of paper and notes scrawled quickly fluttered to the floor with the creatures movements. Opening it's eyes, it looked sleepily at him, ebony eyes glittering. The man chuckled, walking over to a stone tank. Pulling out a hunk of meat, he tossed it at the creature. 'Hybrids…they're so simple to create…once I found the books…' Snarls and roars filled the room as the hybrid pup tore into the flank of the animal, no longer recognizable. Sitting in the only chair in the room, the man steepled his fingers together and closed his eyes. The animal would be busy for a moment with the food, so he had time to think. 'So, she has awoken. The princess.' He sneered, eyebrows forming a frown. 'They thought they could eliminate us by exiling us…the sorcerers. The True Ones, or the Corrupt Ones, as they said. How they spread their false message of righteousness and love of the people when they so thoroughly repress any sort of advance in technology…' Flaring his black wings, he growled, matching tones with the hybrid.
" Yes. Well, we'll just have to see how well our little Princess can rule, won't we little Hybrid?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
" You know Van, it costs money to replace those things." Allen's wry voice startled Van, making him pause, sword swooping to the ground. He growled, then glanced at the training post. Splinters stuck out everywhere, and hunks of wood hung to the sides desperately. Sighing, he slid his sword back into it's sheath.
" Yeah, I know. It's just that…well…you were there." He walked over to a bench and sat down, resting his chin in his hands.
" Yes, I was there. And I was just as angry as you were. They had no right to call her those things, but you have to admit, you were almost as rude to Hitomi when she first came here. You did call her cursed, and you were-"
" Stuck up and obnoxious?" Van supplied with a tired grin, cutting Allen off. He nodded.
" Well, Hitomi was the first person from the Mystic Moon to come to Gaia. We didn't know anything about the people there. When Rose came…they should have known better! And it's not like she flirted with any of the men, anyway, so why would they call her a…" Gripping his sword, Van stood up and paced.
" They're advisors. They're concerned for Fanelia. As you should be, as well."
" What's that supposed to mean?" The doors opened, and a fuzzy pink bundle of fur hit him with the force of two pack-horses.
" It mmeeaaannnsss that they're worried about the lack of an heir to the throne in Fanelia, Lord Van!" He groaned, hugging Merle.
" I'll marry when I find the right girl. I've always said that." Merle glared up at him.
" And you've never found her, and you're going to war within a week! That's why they're doing this big push, Lord Van. What if you die like you almost did last time and leave Fanelia kingless? Hitomi isn't here to save you, and you've successfully pushed away the only other person who might've been able to help us!" Van growled, his voice raised.
" Why is everybody constantly reminding me of Rose?!? I know she's not here, I know I wasn't the most polite to her, and I know why everybody is concerned! I don't want to sound cruel, but Rose probably couldn't have helped us anyway. Hitomi only adopted her, so she probably has no power whatsoever. She also kept the fact that she was adopted a secret, and probably would have stayed silent if she hadn't gotten mad at Millerna. It was her that made the decision to leave, and none of us could have stopped her!" Merle backed away, ears tucked flat against her head, eyes narrowed.
" You could have, Lord Van." Taking a deep breath to yell at her, what she said clicked, and he stopped, exhaling loudly.
" What did you say? How could I have stopped her? She hated my guts!" Merle shook her head, and Allen glanced at her.
" Are you sure it's wise to tell him?" Van blinked. 'Tell me what?' Merle sighed.
" She's gone anyway. It's not like it'll kill her." Now Van was thoroughly confused. What had they been hiding from him?
" Lord Van, you have it all wrong! Rose was the farthest thing away from wanting to kill you." He frowned in confusion. She sighed exasperatedly, then walked up to him, so close that he could see the tiny flecks of light in Merle's eyes. And in her state, it wasn't a good thing to be in scratching range.
" Didn't you see it Lord Van? When she got mad at you when you didn't tell her you were leaving for Fried, when she spent all night crying after you yelled at her in your study….when she couldn't stop blushing for weeks when Millerna and I teased her about being rescued from the dragons by her true love…" Now he was blushing. Quiet badly, if he thought so himself. The embarrassment was mixed with a healthy dose of shame, however. She had cried? 'Well, now the guilt comes flooding in…' he thought wryly.
" And finally, when she swallowed her pride and asked Millerna to teach her how to be a lady when you were gone so that she could impress you when you came back from Fried. She went through wearing corsets, to wearing court dresses, to learning how to sit, stand, talk and eat right, all for you! And you didn't even notice it!" Van shook his head, looking down at Merle.
" What are you getting at, Merle?" Allen shook his head and rolled his eyes, stepping up.
" What she's trying to tell you Van, is that Rose loved you. She loved you probably more than either you and I loved Hitomi." He felt the need to sit down suddenly, and he did, barely hitting the bench. 'Rose…really? No way that's possible…but she did talk to them more than me…and…' a horrible thought dawned on him. ' Being a noble…that night…oh gods…I acted so horribly…' He groaned, burying his head in his arms.
" Oh come on Lord Van, is it really that bad?!?" Van shook his head as best he could within the confines of his arms.
"That's the problem….it's not that bad…it's not bad at all!! I'm such a baka!! Baka baka baka baka…" He didn't raise his head, but he did hear the quiet snickers and eventual uproarious laughter filling the training arena. He just whimpered, wishing the ground would swallow him. 'Why couldn't I have figured it out and told her how I feel?!?'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose smiled grimly to herself. 'Well, I think I've achieved the vampire look.' Her hair, now red, was still smooth, thank the gods. 'It would have sucked to have gone through all of that to wind up with frizzy hair.' Her new wardrobe had come from the seamstress as well, and now she had more clothes than she probably would ever need. She smoothed the fabric on her arms, going back to checking herself over. The dress itself…yes, she was voluntarily wearing dresses…she figured it had something to do with all that nobility training she went through…was entirely black. 'Well, almost entirely,' she added, running a brush through her hair. It came down in a V-neck, ending about an inch below her collar bones. The sleeves came down tightly on her arms to her wrists, where they tapered to a point on her wrist, covering an arrow of flesh on the back of her hand. The hemline whispered against the floor, and was deceptively full, but otherwise sticking to her sides, hips and stomach like a skin. Silver thread ran across her stomach, showing a dragon holding a pearl, his body wrapped around her torso. Her wings hung tucked against her back, adding effect to the dress. Her now-pale skin and red hair clashed violently, causing her to look like she had never been in the sun at all. She spun in front of the mirror. 'All in all, I think I achieved what I was looking for. Wait until Miguel gets a load of this!' She smirked, grabbed her sword, and walked down the hallway to breakfast.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
" Hehehe, Miguel is a suck-up!" Dallet snickered, and the rest of the table joined in. Miguel shot a death glare at him.
" Hey, just because I got her something doesn't mean that I'm sucking up to her." The slayers burst out laughing.
" Yeah sure, whatever Miguel. I can just see it now. 'Hi Rose, since you're being the head leader of Zaibach now, I figure I'd get you something to congratulate you with.'" Miguel groaned, poking his food with his fork miserably. 'Note to self. Never…EVER…tell the rest of the Dragon Slayers anything ever again.' Shesta patted him on the back.
" Ah, don't worry Miguel. We won't tease you…too much!" Miguel gave a wry grin.
" Thanks, I think." They chuckled, and the door to the mess hall opened. Miguel could only stare as everybody else's jaw dropped to the floor. The person in question just chuckled, walking into the hall and grabbing a plate.
" Thank you for the compliments gentlemen, but let's concentrate on eating for now. We'll be having our warm-ups as soon as you've had time to digest your food." Rose smirked as about ten jaws snapped shut, and walked over to him.
" Hey Miguel." Ruffling the top of his head, she went over to the table that also seated Folken, Naria and Dillandu, and sat down. Miguel let out the breath he was holding and shrank back from the murderous glares sent at him from the table.
" I can't help it if she likes me better than all the rest of you guys." Dodging under the table as hunks of bread hurled his way, he could only praise his quick speed as he snuck away from the table, stifling a chuckle. 'Suckers…guess I have to give this to her later though.' Pocketing the long black box, Miguel dashed for the doors, managing to avoid getting hit with anything except a small piece of buttered bread. All in all, he could've been hit worse.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, Rose drew an offending piece of material over her head.
" Honestly Naria, I'll be fine without it." Naria rolled her eyes as she strapped the steel and leather armor overtop of her dress. 'I only plan on finding on man, after all.'
" And supposing you fall in battle? I CAN still beat you, you know. Then where would the army be, without it's Sorceress to guide them?" As if in reprimand, Naria pulled harder than necessary on a strap, causing Rose to loose her breath for a moment. With a quick mental thought, she loosened it. Glancing around the room, she did a quick check to make sure she had everything. Her glance flicked to her left leg, and she patted her knee, the quick check of the edge of her sword a reminder that it was indeed there. She turned to Naria, grinning slightly. 'This is what I was born for…the battle. This is what…' she blinked, shaking her head slightly. 'What's going on? What's with the need to battle all of a sudden? They had BETTER NOT have tried to pull another 'Dillandu' trick!'
" Anyway, Naria, are you ready? Today's the day." Naria blinked at her. 'I wonder what else she was thinking to involve the 'anyway' when she started the sentence…'
" Of course, my Lady." Rose winced. That title brought up bad memories, and she didn't want them surfacing now.
" No. It's not 'my Lady.' And I can't be called Rose, either…somebody might recognize the name." Rose narrowed her eyes in thought. She had forgotten that little detail. Naria was nodding.
" Indeed…umm…let's see…Maria?" Rose made a face.
" Tenshi?" They were silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter.
" I know! What do we use to burn things with?" Rose sighed.
" Naria, I'm not in the mood for…oh all right. We use fire." Naria grinned.
" And what's left over after the fire burns down?" Rose raised an eyebrow at Naria. Had she gone completely insane?
" Ashes." Naria shook her head.
" Nope, but you're close. Coals are left over." Rose shrugged her shoulders, second eyebrow raising to meet the first. Naria shook her head.
" Soooo, if you change the spelling a bit…" Here she reached for a scrap of paper and a quill, scribbling something down.
" There!" Rose picked up the paper and read it, looked at Naria, and then read it again.
" I like it. That'll be my name in the Army from now on. Good work Naria. Now. Let's get this party started!" Dropping the scrap of paper, it fluttered down to the floor, containing only a single word.
'Koal'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Van sat in Escaflowne, looking over the Allied Troops. Men and machines stretched out for miles, and Allen stood beside him in Shezerade. 'This time, we'll be ready for them.' However, Fate had other plans. As the sun rose on the fields, cries of alarm spread throughout the camp as one giant floating fortress appeared out of thin air. Surrounding it were masses upon masses of flying guymelefs, and beneath it revealed thousands of troups. Van raised his sword and charged.
He didn't know how long he had fought, or how many melefs he had brought down before he saw her. Without a melef, and without guards, she stood on the hillside with a smug look on her face. Glancing at him, she headed for a building, now rubble. Cursing, he followed her until the passages in the ruins, presumably a hotel or something with many rooms, grew too small for Escaflowne to fit. 'This is most definitely a trap…but I can't let her get away.' Cautiously, he opened up the hatch of his 'melef, sword ready for an attack. None came, and he jumped out of the cockpit. Flashing a grin at him that was full of contempt and amusement, she turned a corner. 'Sorceress…' Gripping his sheath, he followed her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
'This is too easy…' Rose resisted the urge to chuckle as she wound her way to the center of the old recreation building, the patter of footsteps behind her the only sign she needed that the boy king was still following her. Then, after a few minutes of walking, she got to where she wanted to be. The central arena. Looking around, Rose sneered in contempt at the state of the room. The stone walls were chipped and worn, and dust on the floor from the rubble placed here and there from the fighting made it seem as if the building was centuries old.
" Sorceress! You think you can attack our countries? You die here!" She whirled, parried his slice of his sword with her own, barbed edges catching the blade of his. Wrenching her hand, she tore both his sword and hers out of their hands, sending them skittering across the floor to be picked up later. And in that time, she had one hand wrapped around his throat and was pinning him against the wall. He just blinked dazedly, struggling to get loose. Allowing a triumphant smirk, she said as smoothly and as monotone as possible,
" So. You're the boy king I've been searching for. Van Fanel." Her grip tightened, and her smile widened.
AN: Sorry, sorry, cliffhanger, I know ;-; But it's just so easssyyy ^-^
1 Megumi of the Moon-sorry 'bout those cliffhangers, they're irresistible ^_^""
Kouhei-Thank you for the reviews in my other stories, Megumi as well! I'm sorry to say that when my computer crashed I lost those chapters, and may have to rewrite them. As well, I also wrote most of them with a friend I no longer get together with as much as I'd like to. Therefore, updates in those stories may be few and far between. My deepest apologies, but the ones most affected would be Past Loves and my Gundam Wing one ;-;
" Let me make this perfectly clear. I. Am. Not. Getting. MARRIED!" Van shouted, slamming his hands onto the table. Ever since the preparations for war had begun, his advisors had been hounding him more than ever to find a princess. 'Gods, why can't they just leave me alone???' One of his older advisors stood up.
" My lord, I know you don't want to admit it, but perhaps this refusal of marriage is because of that witch from the Mystic Moon?" Van clenched his fists and his teeth together. 'Murder is bad, murder is bad…'
" You must remember my Lord, she is the one who left. If you continue to obsess over that…that…un-proper whore, then you'll just bring this kingdom to-" Van stood up, his chair tipping over, eyes flashing.
" What did you just call her?" Allen stood, tense, his jaw muscles twitching. The advisor backed down, gulping slightly.
" But…but my lord…she is from the Mystic Moon! All people from there are cursed!" Frowning, Van forced himself to speak quietly.
" Unless your mind fails you, so also are Draconians. And are you prepared to say that the Seeress was also cursed, when she saved the entire planet?" The last few words were stressed, and his muscles ached from the effort not to draw his sword on the man. Nervously, the advisor shook his head, sitting down again.
" This meeting is over." Storming out of the room, Van gripped his sword sheath and nearly ran to the training hall. He needed to beat something up.
" Well, that didn't go very well," Allen commented, glaring at the advisors. They glanced at one another.
" We just want our king to have an heir in case he…well…falls in battle." Allen raised his eyebrow.
" Are you suggesting that Van will die?" The advisor cringed, shaking his head.
" No, no of course not! It's just a precaution, that's all!" Allen shook his head, walking out of the room.
" I'm going to talk to Van. You're lucky he didn't kill you." Slamming the door behind him, Allen took his time going to the training hall. He knew Van would need a few minutes to calm down, at the very least. He sighed. 'As much as I hate to admit it, the advisors are right on a few points. Van did need a Queen, and Fanelia needed an heir to the throne. Van wasn't invincible, and this time Hitomi isn't around to save him. He's also distracted, thinking about Rose. It's the same as it was with Hitomi.' He allowed a small chuckle to escape. The young King would never learn.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose was facing a dilemma. 'Stay the same, or change so nobody recognizes me…stay the same…change….' Tapping her chin, she stared pensively into the full-length mirror that had been brought in from Fried. 'I'm a part of Zaibach now, which means I'll have to fight, most likely. That means I could meet him again. And if he recognizes me…' She frowned, tapping her foot. Making her decision, she flopped into a chair.
" First of all, I need to come up with the things I want…" Calling a piece of paper, a quill and ink to her, she began to write. "Hm…hair has to change….let's make it…flaming red…I always wanted that anyway…paler skin…slightly taller….' She smirked to herself as she dipped her quill into the ink.
A few minutes later she was done. Glancing at the list one more time, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, putting her finger straight to her head.
" Now or never…." Concentrating on the image of herself after her alterations, Rose clenched her teeth.
" Change!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Naria was headed to Roses' room when she heard a loud and painful cry coming from her room. Blinking, she paused momentarily before running to Rose. Opening the door, Naria nearly fell over when she saw what happened.
" Owowowowowowowwoo ouch!!!" A woman was sitting on the floor rubbing her head, wincing, with her legs splayed out. The air crackled with electricity, and Narias' fur was standing on edge because of it. Naria cautiously approached the lady.
" Who are you, and what have you done with Lady Rose?" The woman groaned, pushing herself to her feet. Then she blinked at her.
" You mean it worked? YES!! Scccoorreee!!!!!!" She took a look at Naria's expression and fell silent, coughing and rubbing the back of her head.
" It's me, Naria. It's Rose." Naria raised her eyebrows. 'If she thinks that I'm going to fall for that, she has another thing coming.' The person sighed, rubbing her forehead.
" I decided I needed a change in appearance, that's all. Don't worry about it Naria, I'm still the 'Sorceress of Zaibach.'" Snorting, Naria rolled her eyes.
" Fine then. If you're Rose, then tell me why you left Fanelia?" The girl frowned, crossing her arms. 'Hah, I got her!' Naria grinned smugly, tilting her head.
" Well then, now that we've proved you wrong, I have to bring you to Lord-"
" I ran away." Naria blinked, eyes widening at the woman's interruption.
" What?" Come to think of it, Rose sounded almost exactly like her. But this persons voice was…smoother, deeper almost, but not quite. It also contained an accent that she couldn't quite place.
" I ran away because the boy king was immature and foolish, and he insulted me. I didn't feel the need to stay, so I ran away. Your soldiers caught me, and they brought me here. And then the sorcerers did this." Then her cloak did something odd. It split in two and each part flared out. Naria's jaw dropped. 'Gods, those are wings!'
" Rose?" She nodded, smiling slightly. It sent a chill down Naria's back, and she bowed her head.
" Please accept my apologies, Lady." A cold hand descended on her shoulder, and Naria had to fight the urge to run away. Something about this woman was terrifying. She wasn't quite Rose anymore.
" Don't worry about it. I'm going to oversee my armies. Tell Folken about this, and instruct him to meet me at the arena." Naria nodded, and the hand left her shoulder. 'She acts different as well…not stuck-up, but confident to a large degree. Whatever Rose did…she's different.'
" She what?" Folken stood from his chair, and Naria sighed.
" She told me to instruct you to meet her at the arena. She also said she was looking over 'her' armies." Folken paced as Naria knelt, watching him. Rubbing his forehead, Folken sighed.
" Did you check?" Naria nodded, frowning slightly.
" She has the sword with her. As soon as she left, I searched her room again. You don't think that…" Folken shook his head to her unasked question.
" I don't think anymore. I know. She's who they're looking for. And no matter how long we keep her here, she'll return to them. I just hope that history doesn't repeat itself. She won't be the only one to suffer if it does." Naria watched as Folken sat down again, rubbing his forehead. Walking up to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
" You're still worried about him, aren't you?" Folken glanced up. Chuckling, he nodded.
" A few of his braver advisors contacted me." Pulling a letter out of his cloak, he handed it to her. Naria skimmed it briefly, frowning. Ever since Folken had come back, he 'won over' a few of the Fanelian advisors to tell him how his younger brother was doing every month. This time, the letter changed it's topic a paragraph into it.
" They must be insane. He would never agree to what they're asking."
" He doesn't know. And he won't know until after everything settles down. They haven't told him, and nobody knows of their plans except themselves. And now only you and I know. This can go no further than the two of us." Naria's frown deepened.
" Shouldn't we tell-" Trailing, off, Naria answered her own question. Shrugging, she smiled.
" Oh well. I suppose they'd get used to one another eventually." Nodding, Folken started laughing again.
" You realize that they'll probably try to kill us when they find out, right Naria?" Naria smiled at Folken and joined in his laughter.
" Yes…they probably will, for a few moments."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The room itself was fairly simple. It was large and cavernous, with a vaulted ceiling and stone walls, but other than that it would have fit in to any home. Large wooden tables sported piles upon piles of thick leather- bound books with dust and dirt-encrusted covers. If you touched one, a poof of dust would fly into the air, giving a silent testimony to their age. 'And as they say on the Old Home…with age comes wisdom.' A man moved back from a table, cleaning his hands in a natural spring just large enough to contain both of his hands.
He turned and smiled, looking at the thing on the table of him. It mewed, moving it's new arms and legs, wings stretching out as far as possible. Bits of paper and notes scrawled quickly fluttered to the floor with the creatures movements. Opening it's eyes, it looked sleepily at him, ebony eyes glittering. The man chuckled, walking over to a stone tank. Pulling out a hunk of meat, he tossed it at the creature. 'Hybrids…they're so simple to create…once I found the books…' Snarls and roars filled the room as the hybrid pup tore into the flank of the animal, no longer recognizable. Sitting in the only chair in the room, the man steepled his fingers together and closed his eyes. The animal would be busy for a moment with the food, so he had time to think. 'So, she has awoken. The princess.' He sneered, eyebrows forming a frown. 'They thought they could eliminate us by exiling us…the sorcerers. The True Ones, or the Corrupt Ones, as they said. How they spread their false message of righteousness and love of the people when they so thoroughly repress any sort of advance in technology…' Flaring his black wings, he growled, matching tones with the hybrid.
" Yes. Well, we'll just have to see how well our little Princess can rule, won't we little Hybrid?"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
" You know Van, it costs money to replace those things." Allen's wry voice startled Van, making him pause, sword swooping to the ground. He growled, then glanced at the training post. Splinters stuck out everywhere, and hunks of wood hung to the sides desperately. Sighing, he slid his sword back into it's sheath.
" Yeah, I know. It's just that…well…you were there." He walked over to a bench and sat down, resting his chin in his hands.
" Yes, I was there. And I was just as angry as you were. They had no right to call her those things, but you have to admit, you were almost as rude to Hitomi when she first came here. You did call her cursed, and you were-"
" Stuck up and obnoxious?" Van supplied with a tired grin, cutting Allen off. He nodded.
" Well, Hitomi was the first person from the Mystic Moon to come to Gaia. We didn't know anything about the people there. When Rose came…they should have known better! And it's not like she flirted with any of the men, anyway, so why would they call her a…" Gripping his sword, Van stood up and paced.
" They're advisors. They're concerned for Fanelia. As you should be, as well."
" What's that supposed to mean?" The doors opened, and a fuzzy pink bundle of fur hit him with the force of two pack-horses.
" It mmeeaaannnsss that they're worried about the lack of an heir to the throne in Fanelia, Lord Van!" He groaned, hugging Merle.
" I'll marry when I find the right girl. I've always said that." Merle glared up at him.
" And you've never found her, and you're going to war within a week! That's why they're doing this big push, Lord Van. What if you die like you almost did last time and leave Fanelia kingless? Hitomi isn't here to save you, and you've successfully pushed away the only other person who might've been able to help us!" Van growled, his voice raised.
" Why is everybody constantly reminding me of Rose?!? I know she's not here, I know I wasn't the most polite to her, and I know why everybody is concerned! I don't want to sound cruel, but Rose probably couldn't have helped us anyway. Hitomi only adopted her, so she probably has no power whatsoever. She also kept the fact that she was adopted a secret, and probably would have stayed silent if she hadn't gotten mad at Millerna. It was her that made the decision to leave, and none of us could have stopped her!" Merle backed away, ears tucked flat against her head, eyes narrowed.
" You could have, Lord Van." Taking a deep breath to yell at her, what she said clicked, and he stopped, exhaling loudly.
" What did you say? How could I have stopped her? She hated my guts!" Merle shook her head, and Allen glanced at her.
" Are you sure it's wise to tell him?" Van blinked. 'Tell me what?' Merle sighed.
" She's gone anyway. It's not like it'll kill her." Now Van was thoroughly confused. What had they been hiding from him?
" Lord Van, you have it all wrong! Rose was the farthest thing away from wanting to kill you." He frowned in confusion. She sighed exasperatedly, then walked up to him, so close that he could see the tiny flecks of light in Merle's eyes. And in her state, it wasn't a good thing to be in scratching range.
" Didn't you see it Lord Van? When she got mad at you when you didn't tell her you were leaving for Fried, when she spent all night crying after you yelled at her in your study….when she couldn't stop blushing for weeks when Millerna and I teased her about being rescued from the dragons by her true love…" Now he was blushing. Quiet badly, if he thought so himself. The embarrassment was mixed with a healthy dose of shame, however. She had cried? 'Well, now the guilt comes flooding in…' he thought wryly.
" And finally, when she swallowed her pride and asked Millerna to teach her how to be a lady when you were gone so that she could impress you when you came back from Fried. She went through wearing corsets, to wearing court dresses, to learning how to sit, stand, talk and eat right, all for you! And you didn't even notice it!" Van shook his head, looking down at Merle.
" What are you getting at, Merle?" Allen shook his head and rolled his eyes, stepping up.
" What she's trying to tell you Van, is that Rose loved you. She loved you probably more than either you and I loved Hitomi." He felt the need to sit down suddenly, and he did, barely hitting the bench. 'Rose…really? No way that's possible…but she did talk to them more than me…and…' a horrible thought dawned on him. ' Being a noble…that night…oh gods…I acted so horribly…' He groaned, burying his head in his arms.
" Oh come on Lord Van, is it really that bad?!?" Van shook his head as best he could within the confines of his arms.
"That's the problem….it's not that bad…it's not bad at all!! I'm such a baka!! Baka baka baka baka…" He didn't raise his head, but he did hear the quiet snickers and eventual uproarious laughter filling the training arena. He just whimpered, wishing the ground would swallow him. 'Why couldn't I have figured it out and told her how I feel?!?'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose smiled grimly to herself. 'Well, I think I've achieved the vampire look.' Her hair, now red, was still smooth, thank the gods. 'It would have sucked to have gone through all of that to wind up with frizzy hair.' Her new wardrobe had come from the seamstress as well, and now she had more clothes than she probably would ever need. She smoothed the fabric on her arms, going back to checking herself over. The dress itself…yes, she was voluntarily wearing dresses…she figured it had something to do with all that nobility training she went through…was entirely black. 'Well, almost entirely,' she added, running a brush through her hair. It came down in a V-neck, ending about an inch below her collar bones. The sleeves came down tightly on her arms to her wrists, where they tapered to a point on her wrist, covering an arrow of flesh on the back of her hand. The hemline whispered against the floor, and was deceptively full, but otherwise sticking to her sides, hips and stomach like a skin. Silver thread ran across her stomach, showing a dragon holding a pearl, his body wrapped around her torso. Her wings hung tucked against her back, adding effect to the dress. Her now-pale skin and red hair clashed violently, causing her to look like she had never been in the sun at all. She spun in front of the mirror. 'All in all, I think I achieved what I was looking for. Wait until Miguel gets a load of this!' She smirked, grabbed her sword, and walked down the hallway to breakfast.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
" Hehehe, Miguel is a suck-up!" Dallet snickered, and the rest of the table joined in. Miguel shot a death glare at him.
" Hey, just because I got her something doesn't mean that I'm sucking up to her." The slayers burst out laughing.
" Yeah sure, whatever Miguel. I can just see it now. 'Hi Rose, since you're being the head leader of Zaibach now, I figure I'd get you something to congratulate you with.'" Miguel groaned, poking his food with his fork miserably. 'Note to self. Never…EVER…tell the rest of the Dragon Slayers anything ever again.' Shesta patted him on the back.
" Ah, don't worry Miguel. We won't tease you…too much!" Miguel gave a wry grin.
" Thanks, I think." They chuckled, and the door to the mess hall opened. Miguel could only stare as everybody else's jaw dropped to the floor. The person in question just chuckled, walking into the hall and grabbing a plate.
" Thank you for the compliments gentlemen, but let's concentrate on eating for now. We'll be having our warm-ups as soon as you've had time to digest your food." Rose smirked as about ten jaws snapped shut, and walked over to him.
" Hey Miguel." Ruffling the top of his head, she went over to the table that also seated Folken, Naria and Dillandu, and sat down. Miguel let out the breath he was holding and shrank back from the murderous glares sent at him from the table.
" I can't help it if she likes me better than all the rest of you guys." Dodging under the table as hunks of bread hurled his way, he could only praise his quick speed as he snuck away from the table, stifling a chuckle. 'Suckers…guess I have to give this to her later though.' Pocketing the long black box, Miguel dashed for the doors, managing to avoid getting hit with anything except a small piece of buttered bread. All in all, he could've been hit worse.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, Rose drew an offending piece of material over her head.
" Honestly Naria, I'll be fine without it." Naria rolled her eyes as she strapped the steel and leather armor overtop of her dress. 'I only plan on finding on man, after all.'
" And supposing you fall in battle? I CAN still beat you, you know. Then where would the army be, without it's Sorceress to guide them?" As if in reprimand, Naria pulled harder than necessary on a strap, causing Rose to loose her breath for a moment. With a quick mental thought, she loosened it. Glancing around the room, she did a quick check to make sure she had everything. Her glance flicked to her left leg, and she patted her knee, the quick check of the edge of her sword a reminder that it was indeed there. She turned to Naria, grinning slightly. 'This is what I was born for…the battle. This is what…' she blinked, shaking her head slightly. 'What's going on? What's with the need to battle all of a sudden? They had BETTER NOT have tried to pull another 'Dillandu' trick!'
" Anyway, Naria, are you ready? Today's the day." Naria blinked at her. 'I wonder what else she was thinking to involve the 'anyway' when she started the sentence…'
" Of course, my Lady." Rose winced. That title brought up bad memories, and she didn't want them surfacing now.
" No. It's not 'my Lady.' And I can't be called Rose, either…somebody might recognize the name." Rose narrowed her eyes in thought. She had forgotten that little detail. Naria was nodding.
" Indeed…umm…let's see…Maria?" Rose made a face.
" Tenshi?" They were silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter.
" I know! What do we use to burn things with?" Rose sighed.
" Naria, I'm not in the mood for…oh all right. We use fire." Naria grinned.
" And what's left over after the fire burns down?" Rose raised an eyebrow at Naria. Had she gone completely insane?
" Ashes." Naria shook her head.
" Nope, but you're close. Coals are left over." Rose shrugged her shoulders, second eyebrow raising to meet the first. Naria shook her head.
" Soooo, if you change the spelling a bit…" Here she reached for a scrap of paper and a quill, scribbling something down.
" There!" Rose picked up the paper and read it, looked at Naria, and then read it again.
" I like it. That'll be my name in the Army from now on. Good work Naria. Now. Let's get this party started!" Dropping the scrap of paper, it fluttered down to the floor, containing only a single word.
'Koal'
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Van sat in Escaflowne, looking over the Allied Troops. Men and machines stretched out for miles, and Allen stood beside him in Shezerade. 'This time, we'll be ready for them.' However, Fate had other plans. As the sun rose on the fields, cries of alarm spread throughout the camp as one giant floating fortress appeared out of thin air. Surrounding it were masses upon masses of flying guymelefs, and beneath it revealed thousands of troups. Van raised his sword and charged.
He didn't know how long he had fought, or how many melefs he had brought down before he saw her. Without a melef, and without guards, she stood on the hillside with a smug look on her face. Glancing at him, she headed for a building, now rubble. Cursing, he followed her until the passages in the ruins, presumably a hotel or something with many rooms, grew too small for Escaflowne to fit. 'This is most definitely a trap…but I can't let her get away.' Cautiously, he opened up the hatch of his 'melef, sword ready for an attack. None came, and he jumped out of the cockpit. Flashing a grin at him that was full of contempt and amusement, she turned a corner. 'Sorceress…' Gripping his sheath, he followed her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
'This is too easy…' Rose resisted the urge to chuckle as she wound her way to the center of the old recreation building, the patter of footsteps behind her the only sign she needed that the boy king was still following her. Then, after a few minutes of walking, she got to where she wanted to be. The central arena. Looking around, Rose sneered in contempt at the state of the room. The stone walls were chipped and worn, and dust on the floor from the rubble placed here and there from the fighting made it seem as if the building was centuries old.
" Sorceress! You think you can attack our countries? You die here!" She whirled, parried his slice of his sword with her own, barbed edges catching the blade of his. Wrenching her hand, she tore both his sword and hers out of their hands, sending them skittering across the floor to be picked up later. And in that time, she had one hand wrapped around his throat and was pinning him against the wall. He just blinked dazedly, struggling to get loose. Allowing a triumphant smirk, she said as smoothly and as monotone as possible,
" So. You're the boy king I've been searching for. Van Fanel." Her grip tightened, and her smile widened.
AN: Sorry, sorry, cliffhanger, I know ;-; But it's just so easssyyy ^-^