A/n: wooooooo-whoooooo! I AM BACK FROM ONE TOO MANY TRIG TESTS!!!!
(AND CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS ON MACBETH) YAY!!!! LOL sorry to all my loyal readers out there who have stuck with this fic and much thanks for waiting for the update...this is for you...I promise I have made it worth your time...also, there is another more serious fic I have started about Heero Yuy from Gundam W...check it out if you like the way this one is set up...and on to our story!
~Chapter 3: Sorrowful Day~
I roll over in my bed and look at the clock. The numbers glow a bright red that stings my eyes...or maybe it was just the fact that I had been crying all night-even in my sleep.
Yesterday had been so much fun; I loved just running around the mall with Van. He's someone that I felt I've known forever but he's also somewhat of a mystery. I had completely forgotten that I was practically an orphen when I was with him. I had been enjoying myself. "How selfish of me..." I mumbled running my hands in my hair and convincing myself to get out of the bed.
I grabbed a robe and went to wake Van up. To my surprise, he was already up too. I looked at his eyes. They looked like mine. Dry. Dry because every drop of moisture they contained had been shed to remember Hitomi...my oka-san...
I looked at the solemn boy. His eyes seemed to dart between the pictures of my family, to me, and back again to the pictures. He then hung his head as he sat on the couch. He quietly mummured, " she's really gone now isn't she? gone forever and I lost my chance all because I had no guts..."
This comment struck me as abnormal for something Van would say. I stared at him in utter confusion. He continued. "I should be in Fanelia...protecting the kingdom, working to better the people, not here, not just being a bum..." he said running his hands through his raven hair letting it fall right back into place.
"Van," I whispered. "What are you saying?" I say with a closed fist against the center of my chest. I feel tears stinging in the back of my eyes but I can't cry anymore. It hurts too much. He comtinued as he hung his head even lower and folded his hands at the nape of his neck. "I shouldn't be here...I've only made things worse on everyone...Yukari wants me to go, I've caused Hitomi to take her own life, and you are practically alone becuase of all of this...I have abandoned my people for a period of time...I need to get back..." he says sounding almost like he's given up on the world.
"Oh Van! Don't wish that! If you left me here..." I catch myself with what I am about to say. I think it to myself. "I would truly be alone then...truly alone becuase I feel we have such a bond..."
Van gets up from the couch quickly while I am still standing there searching for words. As he passes by me, I feel a cold wind against my cheek, drying the last tear I had let fall. I turned and watched him walk down the hall. "I'm going to go get dressed," he mumbled.
I watched him until heard his door slam shut. "Yukari must've recognized him..." I said outloud to myself feeling a little bit of anger. "Oh God!," I cried out for help. "If only oka-san were alive, I wouldn't be in such a mess!" I fell to my knees and let out what I had been holding back. Tears flooded my face and sobs could be heard throughout the house and there was no one there but myself on to lean. I felt so bitter and alone.
****************
I slammed the door shut. I gazed around the room. I could feel the bottoms of my eyes filling up with water. Suddenly, my vision went blurry and I couldn't hold it back any longer. "Men aren't supposed to cry, especially kings...they are supposed to be strong for those they protect and love...yet here I am in another situation unable to hold my own ground...I'm such a wuss..." I say looking at Hitomi's picture. "I couldn't do anything...but I didn't have to send you back either...and now, never the chance to know what could've been..." I held the picture in my hands for a couple of seconds just staring at how happy her face was in the picture with Shiryo and Keiichi. It made me sick. That was supposed to be me-happy. I could never have that though.
I threw the picture across the room and got dressed into my funeral attire. It felt nice to dawn the fitting color for the mood and occasion. I fixed my tie and threw the blazer over my shoulder. I walked out of the room angry and frustrated unable to understand why I couldn't seem to acheive a simple happiness like Hitomi seemed to have done. "Maybe I was stuck on a girl who was never really stuck on me..." I thought to myself. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard Shiryo's voice. "Don't you dare say that! Oka-san loved you until the second she hit the ground!"
I look straight in front of me and Shiryo is in the middle of the floor, on her knees, and crying her heart out. "If she had truly known what love was," I say looking down at Shiryo, " then she wouldn't have married that man! She would've waited for me!"
I can see in her eyes that Shiryo is hurt by the comment, but that's how I feel about it. She lets out a small gasp, covers her mouth with one hand and the other is balled up in a fist pressed firmly against her chest. She then lowers her head to the side and shakes it as if to say "no" she doesn't understand.
I didn't feel like I could do anything to help her or anyone anymore. I just simply walked away...headed to the car and awaited for Yukari, Amano, and Shiryo to follow so I could say one last goodbye.
****************
I got in the car and noticed that Van's red-brown eyes were seeming so cold all the sudden. I looked to the front at Amano and Yukari. Each passing moment in that silent vessel was ripping at my mind. Silence has never been so peircing to my ears before now. No one seemed to want to show any emtion or provide any input as to what they were feeling. Yet here I was, wanting answers I couldn't have and trying to stand on my own feet when I knew how desprately dependant I was.
A chill rushed over my body. I felt that this day would forever change my life...in so many ways that I might not be able to handle...this is going to be such a tragic, sad day...it is inedeed a sorrowful day...
*****************************
Dryden pushed his glasses back up on his nose with his middle finger. He set the book down on his coffee table. "This is very interesting..." Dryden said to himself while folding his arms. "Issac...he knew much about Escaflowne and the fate-alteration machine...he concluded that they go hand in hand...but they both need the power of the girl from the mystic moon to be activated to their full potential...then he met Allen's father...they searched together...but poor Issac was a schizophrenic...he was ultimately devoured by his dark personna...Dornkirk...who then wanted to rule the world as all men do when they are possesed by evil intent..." Dryden picked the book back up. "Very interesting indeed..." he continued to read until he came across a blank page.
He jumped when he felt a small chill run from the top of his neck to the bottom of his spine. Something in the back of his mind told him to go get his fountain pen. He grabbed his pen from the ink well off the coffee table and touched the ink to the paper. Quickly, the paper turned completely black and then back to the tarninshed brown color it had been before. Dryden jumped at this and almost threw the book out of his lap. Then he noticed words appearing on the page.
" It's
not
over
yet....
The
dragon
is
still
not
at
rest..........
There
is
another
one.........."
Dryden's mouth fell open and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He dipped his pen in the ink well and touched it again to the page. Nothing happened this time though. He then wrote, "This is Dryden, who are you?"
The ink seemed to gather into one spot on the page collecting from all the other words that had been written.
It read....
"ISSAC"
******************************
I was really beginning to get upset now. Van hadn't shown any emotion since last night. He hadn't shed one single tear during the entire ceremony over the one person he truly loved but there was still the burrial of the casket left to go. Yukari had boo-hooed her eyes out and Amano had also shed a couple of tears.
I glanced around at the different people here. Some of them were simply here out of sympathy for me I suppose. Some of them were just here to see the crazy neighbor off to eternity.
I caught a glimpse of Van out of the corner of my eye. He was standing behind everyone in a corner with his arms folded in a stance that seemed to say, "stay away from me." I didn't like what I was seeing. I walked over to talk to him about what was going on with him when I felt faint. "Oh please, no! Not now!" I screamed out.
I felt all of their eyes on me. It was almost as if they were hot and boring a hole into my skull. The ground under my feet seemed to disappear. I looked around me but everything was black. It was like being blind almost...I finally managed to regain some feeling in my feet and I stood up. There, in front of me was my mother-alive. "Shiryo-be strong..." she said quietly. "What?!" I cried. "Your power lies in how strongly you believe in things, people, and most of all feelings..." I began to go hug her but just as I went to clasp her, she faded away. I then looked up to see a wall covered in the same writting as from the last vision.
************
"Mother! Don't go!" I heard Shiryo yell. I immeadiately ran to her. She was on her knees; her hands were pressed over the temples of her head. "It's them again, isn't it?" I mumbled more as a statement than a question. Yukari made a face at Amano that seemed to say, "all the more reason I don't like the boy." Amano took Yukari aside and whispered to her, " Hitomi used to do this...when that boy came around...she has to work through this herself or else she'll wind up like Hitomi..." "But Amano," she whispered, "she' s suffering so much and she's already been put through heck...she doesn't deserve this..."
I finally quit listening to the two and grab Shiryo's hands and hold them in mine. Her small hands are clamy, covered in perspiration from fear. Evidently, her body was prepearing her for the fight or flight response. "What demons bother you now, girl?" I whispered to her as spectators looked on.
************
"WHY?" I said as I gritted my teeth and walked around. My hands were fist and my face was wrenched in anger. "WHY DO I SEE VISIONS?" I yelled into the nothingness. I turned circles searching for someone, something, some sign of life.
As soon as I had done this, I felt the ground beneath my feet go. I was falling, dropping down into the nothingness.
Suddenly, a cool rush came over my body. I opened my eyes that I had shut from the falling feeling. Water. I was bathed in cool, refreshing water. I had no air though. I would drown soon if I couldn't find an air pocket. I pushed around the cerulean sea with my hands. The water was so clear. I could see for miles. It was so beautiful. If I was to die now, I suppose this would be as good as any place to do it. It was so gorgeous.
No sooner had I thought this when my body felt cramped. I couldn't move. I didn't have the room to anymore. I saw controls, a window, and a place that held some sort of darkened crystal.(1)
"What is this?" I thought to myself. Once again, no answers. I was then knocked out of conciousness because there was too much water in my lungs.
*******************
Shiryoku's body went limp. I reached foward to catch her. She fell straight into my arms. Her body felt so cold, so lifeless. There was only a small pulse beating through her veins. "Shiryo? What's going on in there? Please!" I yelled aloud. I didn't want anything else to happen to her. Not after all this. I had already caused enough problems for her. I squeezed her hand even tighter. "Lighten the load and give some of those mental demons for me to handle with you..."I whispered in her ear. I couldn't stand to see her like this. Neither her body nor her mind could take it right now.
**************
When I awoke, I was in a strange place. There was a great city built with many white buildings, columns, and there was a wall before me with some writting like the stuff I found in my oka-san's room the day Van arrived. I didn't have time to examen it though becuase a voice called to me,"Shiryo." It sounded like Van but he wasn't here.
"Shiryo," I heard a voice call. I turned to see a woman with long hazelnut hair, fair features, and *gasp* white wings! "My name is Varie...you wanted to know why you have visions...that can't really be expained but your destiny and fate can..."
I backed away in fear of the woman. *BUMP* I turned around to see an old man resting agaist a cane. "I brought you here to the Mystic Valley to make you aware of things to come...much depends on you...." he said.
I backed away from him too. I didn't understand anything. Suddenly, my great- grandmother and my mother appeared. They all appeared to be real people but they also appeared as spirits at the same time.
"I never quite finished my experiments..." the old man continued. I raised an eyebrow as I watched him pace. Varie simply lowered her head and shook it. "His spirit won't rest until he's finished his work and feels some closure...I didn't want this to happen...oh my poor son, I never wished this on you!" she screamed beginning to cry with her head cradled by her hands.
I became more baffled every second I stood here. "....call the third spirit..." the old man mumbled. My heart skipped a beat and I lost my breath at the sight of it. It was a girl who looked exactly like me!
She was dressed in a beautiful silk, flowing dress with a crown of flowers upon her head. "Who..." I whispered as the three began to form a circle around me.
"...Ehheehehehe..." the old man cackled. "The past, present, and future meet!" he yelled.
"Who are you?" I finally managed to choke out, peering over the three people's heads. He smirked. "A friend...or a foe...whichever you decide, Zephyer..." "That's not my name," I called to him. "I demand a name of you though!"
He cackled agian. "Am I Issac or Dornkirk today? I don't know...I'm not feeling particularly benevolent but then again, I don't wish for the direct end of this world..."
I shook my head not understanding and becoming more upset and frustrated with each passing second. Why had he called me Zephyer? Who was Varie? Why is there a me here in this strange place? What are oka-san and great-grandma doing here?
My mother, great-grandmother, and the alternate me started moving in a circle around me with linked hands. "Start the experiment..." Issac said as he walked off.
As each face passed by me, one of the girls took a line of this chant:
The third in line
the third to believe
the first to bring the end of things
or give life-
That is your charge!
Give her wings!
Take flight! Fly!
Across an ancient sky!
Go to Gaea,
Earth reborn-
And no longer have feelings forlorn!
To Gaea you belong!
You are the Maiden of Song!
GO NOW!
GAEA AWAITS!
And with that the circle breaks and the spirits dissapate. I can hear the voice of me call one last thing, "...and so does he..."
I pass out again. I feel like I am watching slow motion though. As my eyelids shut, Issac stands over me and says, "...the Gravity of Destiny I still wish to see..."
*******************
Fog clouds everything I see. I'm back in the void again. The cloud is so heavy. I look desprately for some way out. Straight ahead, I see two round, mahogany ovals. I start to feel drawn to them and walk towards them. Suddenly, they aren't there anymore.
Van's face is shoved into the light and out of the fog. He looks at me with sad, understanding eyes. I am just glad to get a rise of emotion out of him. "Are you ok?" he says worried. I just am overjoyed to have my friend back and not emotionless that I begin to cry. I throw my arms around his neck and cry on his broad shoulder. I open my eyes with my head still on his shoulder and I look to see Varie floating over my mother's casket.
"What are you doing here?" I cry out. (By now, everyone is really weireded out; all that is except for Van, Amano, and Yukari who are just plain worried.)
"Who do you speak to?" Van says holding onto my shoulders so tightly that it hurts. "She says her name is Varie..." I reply still staring at the sad woman. "MOTHER?" Van cries out. "I'm sorry to bother you both, but I can't allow this...I can't see my son hurt again! He, deep down in his heart, wants to go home! Can't you just let him go Zephyer?"
"NO! He's the only friend I have!" I cry out clenching his shirt while leaning my head on his chest. I can hear his heartbeat. It's racing but he stays calm. "I can't see her! I can't see my mother but you can? HOW?" he says getting upset.
"He NEEDS and WANTS to go home..." Varie says again firmly and disappears.
Van gives me a little push to go away. He gets up and says his last goodbye to Hitomi. It was so sad. He whispered something in Fanelian to her in the casket followed by a, "...I will be yours forever and always..."
The gentle breeze blows past my cheek. It feels so calming, so peaceful. I close my eyes and let my mind be eased by it. It dries my tears and almost speaks to me. My cherry mahogany hair is blowing in the wind and I feel as if I hear monks singing...I can't quite make out what they are saying. "....sca......ne......" I tune everything around me out and listen more intently. What message could possibly be carried by the wind? "....sca..lo...ne...." I almost can hear them now. I rise from sitting on my knees to be kneeling now. I begin to mouth the word with them. It finally comes within hearing range. I close my hand over my chest feeling the dragon ring Van gave to me becoming hot. I open my mouth and let the word flood out from it, "E-sca-flow-ne.....E-sca-flow-ne....." I sing in accord with the monks. I finally open my eyes and Van has jumped at the sight of hearing this. His eyes have dialated to mere pinpionts for pupils and he whispers, "...you hear them too?....Why would Escaflowne be calling you?...."
"Escaflowne is calling you? Why? It shouldn't be...Gaea is at peace..." I say knitting my eyebrows together portraying even more confusion on my face. Yukari lets go of Amano's shirt and rushes to my side. She cradles my head in her hands and says, "...pay no attention to anything you have seen or heard" she says to all the people around us. "...you're just dealing with your mother's death in a different way than most people do..."
I jerk my head out of her hands. "YUKARI! How dare you say something like that!" I yell bringing myself to tears. "You of all people should know how these visions plauge a person! Things actually happen! What would you do if you couldn't get rid of them? They FORCE you to pay attention! IT CAN'T BE HELPED! You must find what they mean for yourself!" I stand to my feet. I turn to look at Van. His eyes are still dialated and his knuckles are white from his tight grip on oka-san's casket.
I look back at Yukari who has targeted Van with her eyes. She raises a finger and points it at him saying, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! NOTHING WENT WRONG UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP!"
That was it for me. That was the very last straw. I was tired of her putting blame on poor Van. He already had enough on his shoulders. I took Yukari's hand and pushed it down. I then walked over and slapped her on her cheek as hard as I possibly could. "Maybe it was never him, Yukari! Maybe you started to push her away before he ever even got here!"
Yukari held her cheek and her eyes were wide with fear. I then stepped foward even closer to her and said, "You got married, Yukari...She felt like a third wheel...and then you had a child...of course friends pull away from each other when one marries and has children...it's ineviditable!" Yukari gasped at the sight of me mad. I usually never got angry and lashed out like this but there was something burning deep inside my heart now. "Maybe you're the one who can't handle Hitomi's death...." and with that said I marched off. I don't even look back to see what is happening with Van. I regret that I didn't turn back for once in my life.
As soon as I heard the sound that resembled a sonic boom, I saw a great column of light appear. I saw Van swept up into it and I raced after him. I reached my small hand up into the warm light to grab onto Van's. As soon as he saw this, he bent down as far as he could with a slight smile and an extended hand also. I felt his thick fingertips touch my delicate, slim fingers and then I was drug down and away from them. I had just barely missed being pulled up by him into the light.
I looked down with my vision becoming blurry from the water that was forming in the bottom of my eyes. There was Yukari, clasped onto my leg pulling me away from the light.
I turned back up letting crystal clear drops of tears float up in the light. I mouthed, "gomen ne," to Van and his expression went from slight joy to utter and absolute sadness. A tear slowly floated up next to him and he held it on the tip of his finger and looked at me one last time. Then, he was gone.
I felt I lost the will to go on;I was so saddend. I just feel to my knees and started to cry again. I was truly alone now. I had lost everything that I had ever had. I had lost my mother and my friend. I had lost a new found friend and a brother. I had Yukari and Amano, but they were being so overbearing, so overprotective. What I needed now was simply someone to listen, but no...I would look everywhere and find that nowhere. "It truly is a sorrowful day..." I mumbled between tears.
*******************
"It's home..." I say aloud while staring at the sky and noticing the two moons of Gaea. I take in a deep breath and listen to everything in the field surrounding me. I've always loved the field. It's just so pure...so clean...so honest...I let the wind fly through my hair and take another deep breath. I hold out my arms and release something I had been holding back for a while. I stretched, hoping to ease some of the pain that came from releasing my wings. They finally came out and I decided fly home to the castle. I always fly when I think about things. Right now, I wanted to know why I had heard the calling of Escaflowne. I was also thinking about Shiryo. She had looked so sad not being able to come with me. And as much as I like her, it's better this way.
As I flew home, I let myself go for once. I tried to ease my mind by doing all sorts of loops, dives, and just gliding. After a good while, I was finally back at the castle. I landed in a nearby field, one I was used to visiting and retracted my wings. I let the wind pass through me one last time before I returned to the stresses of being a young king. I could've sworn I heard the wind carrying Shiryoku's voice saying , "...this truly is a sorrowful day..." "I wish I could've let you tag along..." I say thoughtfully.
I head back to the castle and the first person to greet me is Merlu. She wraps her arms around me and begins crying. "What's wrong?" I ask her with a great deal of concern in my voice.
"Oh Van-sama! It's horrible! There's a man here claiming to be your brother's son! He says that he's older than you and that he should be on the throne!" she says letting tears fall from every direction possible.
I am baffled by this. Folken never married and would have never been the type to have a mistress. No, this WAS impossible. The man was an imposter. That's all there was to it. I looked just above Merlu's shoulder and saw what appeared to be the ghost of my brother only with longer hair and an evil grimace on his face. He spoke.
"That's right-I AM you brother's son...My name is Marius Lacour de Fanel."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THAT'S RIGHT! CLIFFHANGER! MUHAHAHAHAAAAA...evil authoress...it won't take long to get this back on track...got a school holiday tomorrow so I will work a lot then...Heero Yuy fic will get updated prally too...in proofing process. SO, everyone R&R if ya' don't mind...tell others about this, hope you enjoyed! ~love japanimejo~
(1)The "darkened crystal" described was supposed to be the back of the place where one inserts the dragon engergist in Escaflowne.
(AND CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS ON MACBETH) YAY!!!! LOL sorry to all my loyal readers out there who have stuck with this fic and much thanks for waiting for the update...this is for you...I promise I have made it worth your time...also, there is another more serious fic I have started about Heero Yuy from Gundam W...check it out if you like the way this one is set up...and on to our story!
~Chapter 3: Sorrowful Day~
I roll over in my bed and look at the clock. The numbers glow a bright red that stings my eyes...or maybe it was just the fact that I had been crying all night-even in my sleep.
Yesterday had been so much fun; I loved just running around the mall with Van. He's someone that I felt I've known forever but he's also somewhat of a mystery. I had completely forgotten that I was practically an orphen when I was with him. I had been enjoying myself. "How selfish of me..." I mumbled running my hands in my hair and convincing myself to get out of the bed.
I grabbed a robe and went to wake Van up. To my surprise, he was already up too. I looked at his eyes. They looked like mine. Dry. Dry because every drop of moisture they contained had been shed to remember Hitomi...my oka-san...
I looked at the solemn boy. His eyes seemed to dart between the pictures of my family, to me, and back again to the pictures. He then hung his head as he sat on the couch. He quietly mummured, " she's really gone now isn't she? gone forever and I lost my chance all because I had no guts..."
This comment struck me as abnormal for something Van would say. I stared at him in utter confusion. He continued. "I should be in Fanelia...protecting the kingdom, working to better the people, not here, not just being a bum..." he said running his hands through his raven hair letting it fall right back into place.
"Van," I whispered. "What are you saying?" I say with a closed fist against the center of my chest. I feel tears stinging in the back of my eyes but I can't cry anymore. It hurts too much. He comtinued as he hung his head even lower and folded his hands at the nape of his neck. "I shouldn't be here...I've only made things worse on everyone...Yukari wants me to go, I've caused Hitomi to take her own life, and you are practically alone becuase of all of this...I have abandoned my people for a period of time...I need to get back..." he says sounding almost like he's given up on the world.
"Oh Van! Don't wish that! If you left me here..." I catch myself with what I am about to say. I think it to myself. "I would truly be alone then...truly alone becuase I feel we have such a bond..."
Van gets up from the couch quickly while I am still standing there searching for words. As he passes by me, I feel a cold wind against my cheek, drying the last tear I had let fall. I turned and watched him walk down the hall. "I'm going to go get dressed," he mumbled.
I watched him until heard his door slam shut. "Yukari must've recognized him..." I said outloud to myself feeling a little bit of anger. "Oh God!," I cried out for help. "If only oka-san were alive, I wouldn't be in such a mess!" I fell to my knees and let out what I had been holding back. Tears flooded my face and sobs could be heard throughout the house and there was no one there but myself on to lean. I felt so bitter and alone.
****************
I slammed the door shut. I gazed around the room. I could feel the bottoms of my eyes filling up with water. Suddenly, my vision went blurry and I couldn't hold it back any longer. "Men aren't supposed to cry, especially kings...they are supposed to be strong for those they protect and love...yet here I am in another situation unable to hold my own ground...I'm such a wuss..." I say looking at Hitomi's picture. "I couldn't do anything...but I didn't have to send you back either...and now, never the chance to know what could've been..." I held the picture in my hands for a couple of seconds just staring at how happy her face was in the picture with Shiryo and Keiichi. It made me sick. That was supposed to be me-happy. I could never have that though.
I threw the picture across the room and got dressed into my funeral attire. It felt nice to dawn the fitting color for the mood and occasion. I fixed my tie and threw the blazer over my shoulder. I walked out of the room angry and frustrated unable to understand why I couldn't seem to acheive a simple happiness like Hitomi seemed to have done. "Maybe I was stuck on a girl who was never really stuck on me..." I thought to myself. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard Shiryo's voice. "Don't you dare say that! Oka-san loved you until the second she hit the ground!"
I look straight in front of me and Shiryo is in the middle of the floor, on her knees, and crying her heart out. "If she had truly known what love was," I say looking down at Shiryo, " then she wouldn't have married that man! She would've waited for me!"
I can see in her eyes that Shiryo is hurt by the comment, but that's how I feel about it. She lets out a small gasp, covers her mouth with one hand and the other is balled up in a fist pressed firmly against her chest. She then lowers her head to the side and shakes it as if to say "no" she doesn't understand.
I didn't feel like I could do anything to help her or anyone anymore. I just simply walked away...headed to the car and awaited for Yukari, Amano, and Shiryo to follow so I could say one last goodbye.
****************
I got in the car and noticed that Van's red-brown eyes were seeming so cold all the sudden. I looked to the front at Amano and Yukari. Each passing moment in that silent vessel was ripping at my mind. Silence has never been so peircing to my ears before now. No one seemed to want to show any emtion or provide any input as to what they were feeling. Yet here I was, wanting answers I couldn't have and trying to stand on my own feet when I knew how desprately dependant I was.
A chill rushed over my body. I felt that this day would forever change my life...in so many ways that I might not be able to handle...this is going to be such a tragic, sad day...it is inedeed a sorrowful day...
*****************************
Dryden pushed his glasses back up on his nose with his middle finger. He set the book down on his coffee table. "This is very interesting..." Dryden said to himself while folding his arms. "Issac...he knew much about Escaflowne and the fate-alteration machine...he concluded that they go hand in hand...but they both need the power of the girl from the mystic moon to be activated to their full potential...then he met Allen's father...they searched together...but poor Issac was a schizophrenic...he was ultimately devoured by his dark personna...Dornkirk...who then wanted to rule the world as all men do when they are possesed by evil intent..." Dryden picked the book back up. "Very interesting indeed..." he continued to read until he came across a blank page.
He jumped when he felt a small chill run from the top of his neck to the bottom of his spine. Something in the back of his mind told him to go get his fountain pen. He grabbed his pen from the ink well off the coffee table and touched the ink to the paper. Quickly, the paper turned completely black and then back to the tarninshed brown color it had been before. Dryden jumped at this and almost threw the book out of his lap. Then he noticed words appearing on the page.
" It's
not
over
yet....
The
dragon
is
still
not
at
rest..........
There
is
another
one.........."
Dryden's mouth fell open and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He dipped his pen in the ink well and touched it again to the page. Nothing happened this time though. He then wrote, "This is Dryden, who are you?"
The ink seemed to gather into one spot on the page collecting from all the other words that had been written.
It read....
"ISSAC"
******************************
I was really beginning to get upset now. Van hadn't shown any emotion since last night. He hadn't shed one single tear during the entire ceremony over the one person he truly loved but there was still the burrial of the casket left to go. Yukari had boo-hooed her eyes out and Amano had also shed a couple of tears.
I glanced around at the different people here. Some of them were simply here out of sympathy for me I suppose. Some of them were just here to see the crazy neighbor off to eternity.
I caught a glimpse of Van out of the corner of my eye. He was standing behind everyone in a corner with his arms folded in a stance that seemed to say, "stay away from me." I didn't like what I was seeing. I walked over to talk to him about what was going on with him when I felt faint. "Oh please, no! Not now!" I screamed out.
I felt all of their eyes on me. It was almost as if they were hot and boring a hole into my skull. The ground under my feet seemed to disappear. I looked around me but everything was black. It was like being blind almost...I finally managed to regain some feeling in my feet and I stood up. There, in front of me was my mother-alive. "Shiryo-be strong..." she said quietly. "What?!" I cried. "Your power lies in how strongly you believe in things, people, and most of all feelings..." I began to go hug her but just as I went to clasp her, she faded away. I then looked up to see a wall covered in the same writting as from the last vision.
************
"Mother! Don't go!" I heard Shiryo yell. I immeadiately ran to her. She was on her knees; her hands were pressed over the temples of her head. "It's them again, isn't it?" I mumbled more as a statement than a question. Yukari made a face at Amano that seemed to say, "all the more reason I don't like the boy." Amano took Yukari aside and whispered to her, " Hitomi used to do this...when that boy came around...she has to work through this herself or else she'll wind up like Hitomi..." "But Amano," she whispered, "she' s suffering so much and she's already been put through heck...she doesn't deserve this..."
I finally quit listening to the two and grab Shiryo's hands and hold them in mine. Her small hands are clamy, covered in perspiration from fear. Evidently, her body was prepearing her for the fight or flight response. "What demons bother you now, girl?" I whispered to her as spectators looked on.
************
"WHY?" I said as I gritted my teeth and walked around. My hands were fist and my face was wrenched in anger. "WHY DO I SEE VISIONS?" I yelled into the nothingness. I turned circles searching for someone, something, some sign of life.
As soon as I had done this, I felt the ground beneath my feet go. I was falling, dropping down into the nothingness.
Suddenly, a cool rush came over my body. I opened my eyes that I had shut from the falling feeling. Water. I was bathed in cool, refreshing water. I had no air though. I would drown soon if I couldn't find an air pocket. I pushed around the cerulean sea with my hands. The water was so clear. I could see for miles. It was so beautiful. If I was to die now, I suppose this would be as good as any place to do it. It was so gorgeous.
No sooner had I thought this when my body felt cramped. I couldn't move. I didn't have the room to anymore. I saw controls, a window, and a place that held some sort of darkened crystal.(1)
"What is this?" I thought to myself. Once again, no answers. I was then knocked out of conciousness because there was too much water in my lungs.
*******************
Shiryoku's body went limp. I reached foward to catch her. She fell straight into my arms. Her body felt so cold, so lifeless. There was only a small pulse beating through her veins. "Shiryo? What's going on in there? Please!" I yelled aloud. I didn't want anything else to happen to her. Not after all this. I had already caused enough problems for her. I squeezed her hand even tighter. "Lighten the load and give some of those mental demons for me to handle with you..."I whispered in her ear. I couldn't stand to see her like this. Neither her body nor her mind could take it right now.
**************
When I awoke, I was in a strange place. There was a great city built with many white buildings, columns, and there was a wall before me with some writting like the stuff I found in my oka-san's room the day Van arrived. I didn't have time to examen it though becuase a voice called to me,"Shiryo." It sounded like Van but he wasn't here.
"Shiryo," I heard a voice call. I turned to see a woman with long hazelnut hair, fair features, and *gasp* white wings! "My name is Varie...you wanted to know why you have visions...that can't really be expained but your destiny and fate can..."
I backed away in fear of the woman. *BUMP* I turned around to see an old man resting agaist a cane. "I brought you here to the Mystic Valley to make you aware of things to come...much depends on you...." he said.
I backed away from him too. I didn't understand anything. Suddenly, my great- grandmother and my mother appeared. They all appeared to be real people but they also appeared as spirits at the same time.
"I never quite finished my experiments..." the old man continued. I raised an eyebrow as I watched him pace. Varie simply lowered her head and shook it. "His spirit won't rest until he's finished his work and feels some closure...I didn't want this to happen...oh my poor son, I never wished this on you!" she screamed beginning to cry with her head cradled by her hands.
I became more baffled every second I stood here. "....call the third spirit..." the old man mumbled. My heart skipped a beat and I lost my breath at the sight of it. It was a girl who looked exactly like me!
She was dressed in a beautiful silk, flowing dress with a crown of flowers upon her head. "Who..." I whispered as the three began to form a circle around me.
"...Ehheehehehe..." the old man cackled. "The past, present, and future meet!" he yelled.
"Who are you?" I finally managed to choke out, peering over the three people's heads. He smirked. "A friend...or a foe...whichever you decide, Zephyer..." "That's not my name," I called to him. "I demand a name of you though!"
He cackled agian. "Am I Issac or Dornkirk today? I don't know...I'm not feeling particularly benevolent but then again, I don't wish for the direct end of this world..."
I shook my head not understanding and becoming more upset and frustrated with each passing second. Why had he called me Zephyer? Who was Varie? Why is there a me here in this strange place? What are oka-san and great-grandma doing here?
My mother, great-grandmother, and the alternate me started moving in a circle around me with linked hands. "Start the experiment..." Issac said as he walked off.
As each face passed by me, one of the girls took a line of this chant:
The third in line
the third to believe
the first to bring the end of things
or give life-
That is your charge!
Give her wings!
Take flight! Fly!
Across an ancient sky!
Go to Gaea,
Earth reborn-
And no longer have feelings forlorn!
To Gaea you belong!
You are the Maiden of Song!
GO NOW!
GAEA AWAITS!
And with that the circle breaks and the spirits dissapate. I can hear the voice of me call one last thing, "...and so does he..."
I pass out again. I feel like I am watching slow motion though. As my eyelids shut, Issac stands over me and says, "...the Gravity of Destiny I still wish to see..."
*******************
Fog clouds everything I see. I'm back in the void again. The cloud is so heavy. I look desprately for some way out. Straight ahead, I see two round, mahogany ovals. I start to feel drawn to them and walk towards them. Suddenly, they aren't there anymore.
Van's face is shoved into the light and out of the fog. He looks at me with sad, understanding eyes. I am just glad to get a rise of emotion out of him. "Are you ok?" he says worried. I just am overjoyed to have my friend back and not emotionless that I begin to cry. I throw my arms around his neck and cry on his broad shoulder. I open my eyes with my head still on his shoulder and I look to see Varie floating over my mother's casket.
"What are you doing here?" I cry out. (By now, everyone is really weireded out; all that is except for Van, Amano, and Yukari who are just plain worried.)
"Who do you speak to?" Van says holding onto my shoulders so tightly that it hurts. "She says her name is Varie..." I reply still staring at the sad woman. "MOTHER?" Van cries out. "I'm sorry to bother you both, but I can't allow this...I can't see my son hurt again! He, deep down in his heart, wants to go home! Can't you just let him go Zephyer?"
"NO! He's the only friend I have!" I cry out clenching his shirt while leaning my head on his chest. I can hear his heartbeat. It's racing but he stays calm. "I can't see her! I can't see my mother but you can? HOW?" he says getting upset.
"He NEEDS and WANTS to go home..." Varie says again firmly and disappears.
Van gives me a little push to go away. He gets up and says his last goodbye to Hitomi. It was so sad. He whispered something in Fanelian to her in the casket followed by a, "...I will be yours forever and always..."
The gentle breeze blows past my cheek. It feels so calming, so peaceful. I close my eyes and let my mind be eased by it. It dries my tears and almost speaks to me. My cherry mahogany hair is blowing in the wind and I feel as if I hear monks singing...I can't quite make out what they are saying. "....sca......ne......" I tune everything around me out and listen more intently. What message could possibly be carried by the wind? "....sca..lo...ne...." I almost can hear them now. I rise from sitting on my knees to be kneeling now. I begin to mouth the word with them. It finally comes within hearing range. I close my hand over my chest feeling the dragon ring Van gave to me becoming hot. I open my mouth and let the word flood out from it, "E-sca-flow-ne.....E-sca-flow-ne....." I sing in accord with the monks. I finally open my eyes and Van has jumped at the sight of hearing this. His eyes have dialated to mere pinpionts for pupils and he whispers, "...you hear them too?....Why would Escaflowne be calling you?...."
"Escaflowne is calling you? Why? It shouldn't be...Gaea is at peace..." I say knitting my eyebrows together portraying even more confusion on my face. Yukari lets go of Amano's shirt and rushes to my side. She cradles my head in her hands and says, "...pay no attention to anything you have seen or heard" she says to all the people around us. "...you're just dealing with your mother's death in a different way than most people do..."
I jerk my head out of her hands. "YUKARI! How dare you say something like that!" I yell bringing myself to tears. "You of all people should know how these visions plauge a person! Things actually happen! What would you do if you couldn't get rid of them? They FORCE you to pay attention! IT CAN'T BE HELPED! You must find what they mean for yourself!" I stand to my feet. I turn to look at Van. His eyes are still dialated and his knuckles are white from his tight grip on oka-san's casket.
I look back at Yukari who has targeted Van with her eyes. She raises a finger and points it at him saying, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! NOTHING WENT WRONG UNTIL YOU SHOWED UP!"
That was it for me. That was the very last straw. I was tired of her putting blame on poor Van. He already had enough on his shoulders. I took Yukari's hand and pushed it down. I then walked over and slapped her on her cheek as hard as I possibly could. "Maybe it was never him, Yukari! Maybe you started to push her away before he ever even got here!"
Yukari held her cheek and her eyes were wide with fear. I then stepped foward even closer to her and said, "You got married, Yukari...She felt like a third wheel...and then you had a child...of course friends pull away from each other when one marries and has children...it's ineviditable!" Yukari gasped at the sight of me mad. I usually never got angry and lashed out like this but there was something burning deep inside my heart now. "Maybe you're the one who can't handle Hitomi's death...." and with that said I marched off. I don't even look back to see what is happening with Van. I regret that I didn't turn back for once in my life.
As soon as I heard the sound that resembled a sonic boom, I saw a great column of light appear. I saw Van swept up into it and I raced after him. I reached my small hand up into the warm light to grab onto Van's. As soon as he saw this, he bent down as far as he could with a slight smile and an extended hand also. I felt his thick fingertips touch my delicate, slim fingers and then I was drug down and away from them. I had just barely missed being pulled up by him into the light.
I looked down with my vision becoming blurry from the water that was forming in the bottom of my eyes. There was Yukari, clasped onto my leg pulling me away from the light.
I turned back up letting crystal clear drops of tears float up in the light. I mouthed, "gomen ne," to Van and his expression went from slight joy to utter and absolute sadness. A tear slowly floated up next to him and he held it on the tip of his finger and looked at me one last time. Then, he was gone.
I felt I lost the will to go on;I was so saddend. I just feel to my knees and started to cry again. I was truly alone now. I had lost everything that I had ever had. I had lost my mother and my friend. I had lost a new found friend and a brother. I had Yukari and Amano, but they were being so overbearing, so overprotective. What I needed now was simply someone to listen, but no...I would look everywhere and find that nowhere. "It truly is a sorrowful day..." I mumbled between tears.
*******************
"It's home..." I say aloud while staring at the sky and noticing the two moons of Gaea. I take in a deep breath and listen to everything in the field surrounding me. I've always loved the field. It's just so pure...so clean...so honest...I let the wind fly through my hair and take another deep breath. I hold out my arms and release something I had been holding back for a while. I stretched, hoping to ease some of the pain that came from releasing my wings. They finally came out and I decided fly home to the castle. I always fly when I think about things. Right now, I wanted to know why I had heard the calling of Escaflowne. I was also thinking about Shiryo. She had looked so sad not being able to come with me. And as much as I like her, it's better this way.
As I flew home, I let myself go for once. I tried to ease my mind by doing all sorts of loops, dives, and just gliding. After a good while, I was finally back at the castle. I landed in a nearby field, one I was used to visiting and retracted my wings. I let the wind pass through me one last time before I returned to the stresses of being a young king. I could've sworn I heard the wind carrying Shiryoku's voice saying , "...this truly is a sorrowful day..." "I wish I could've let you tag along..." I say thoughtfully.
I head back to the castle and the first person to greet me is Merlu. She wraps her arms around me and begins crying. "What's wrong?" I ask her with a great deal of concern in my voice.
"Oh Van-sama! It's horrible! There's a man here claiming to be your brother's son! He says that he's older than you and that he should be on the throne!" she says letting tears fall from every direction possible.
I am baffled by this. Folken never married and would have never been the type to have a mistress. No, this WAS impossible. The man was an imposter. That's all there was to it. I looked just above Merlu's shoulder and saw what appeared to be the ghost of my brother only with longer hair and an evil grimace on his face. He spoke.
"That's right-I AM you brother's son...My name is Marius Lacour de Fanel."
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THAT'S RIGHT! CLIFFHANGER! MUHAHAHAHAAAAA...evil authoress...it won't take long to get this back on track...got a school holiday tomorrow so I will work a lot then...Heero Yuy fic will get updated prally too...in proofing process. SO, everyone R&R if ya' don't mind...tell others about this, hope you enjoyed! ~love japanimejo~
(1)The "darkened crystal" described was supposed to be the back of the place where one inserts the dragon engergist in Escaflowne.