Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me.

While the Cat's Away

Chapter Three

Van and Hitomi stood nearby Escaflowne, Hitomi's pendant hanging from their joint hands. There was a large map on the floor underneath them. Both had their eyes closed and appeared to be concentrating very hard.

Allen walked in and looked at them curiously. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're trying to locate Merle," Hitomi replied, not opening her eyes.

"Oh. Need help?"
Hitomi shrugged. "It couldn't hurt. We're trying to increase our power. Who knows how far away they've taken her."

Allen nodded slightly. "I'll go get the others." He hurried to fetch them.

Van opened his eyes. "It's useless," he complained. "No matter how many people we get, we still won't be able to find her."

Hitomi squeezed his hand reassuringly. She knew how much Merle meant to him. And despite their arguments, Hitomi didn't know what she'd do without her. 'Everyone needs a rival," she thought to herself. "Don't worry, Van, we'll find her."

He managed a small smile and shut his eyes again. Hitomi did the same. She thought her. She could almost see her, as if Merle was really there. But where was she?
Suddenly, everything went black for a moment She found herself in a dark chamber, with only a small torch hanging on the wall as a light source. She reached out to touch the wall. It was cold stone. Granite, she figured, from what she'd learned in Earth Science. She glanced up and down the wall, searching for something in this place that wasn't stone. The wall seemed to go on forever. She walked down it, making sure her hand was against the wall at all times. It was extremely difficult to see in this place. She took another step and her hand fell in an empty space. She steadied herself on a cold metal bar. Her hand groped the wall and felt hinges. It was a cell door. She looked inside it. Merle was sitting on the hard floor. She appeared unhurt, but very worried. And she wasn't alone. Hitomi gasped at whom she saw.

The room came back into focus. Van was shaking her. "What happened? Did you see her?"

Hitomi nodded numbly. "Yes, but we have to hurry. She's a prisoner. And…" Hitomi's voice trailed off.

"What?" Van urged. "You stepped away, but I saw the pendant stop in the mountains just east of here. Hitomi, what's the matter? What did you see?"

Hitomi took a deep breath. She didn't wish to be the one to tell him this. "Van, do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course I do. What is it?"

"Then, whoever we meet, just don't… leave him…" She said weakly, before fainting. Van caught her just in time. He set her down gently, than ran off to get the others.

* * * * * *

Merle jumped off the table and backed away, not taking her eyes off him. She bumped into Naria, who gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Who are you?" Merle demanded. She trembled slightly, but her voice remained strong.

"Merle." His cold eyes filled with tears as he stepped towards her.

Frightened, Merle hissed at him. "How'd you know my name?"

The other cat girls looked at him questioningly. He never mentioned the existence of Merle to them. They only knew that she was related to the Dragon in some way.

"Naria, Eriya," he croaked. "This is my little sister."
Merle gasped, looking at him as if he were a ghost. "Folken?" He nodded grimly. "But, but you're dead. I don't believe it, Lord Van's going to be…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes filled with anger. "What are you doing here? Why are you with Zaibach?"

"Merle," he began. He stretched out his metal arm to her. She recoiled, afraid.

"Stay away from me. Why should I trust you? You… You… TRAITOR!" She lashed out at his face, knocking over a glass bottle on the table. It shattered as soon as it hit the floor. Merle jumped back, trying to get away from the flying glass. However, she wasn't fast enough and a tiny piece imbedded itself in her toe. She cried out in pain. Eriya clapped her hand over her mouth, hoping no one would hear her, if they hadn't already.

"Be quiet!" Naria chided her; acting more like Merle was a little sister, instead of a prisoner. "You'll get us all in trouble." They heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Merle, listen to me," Folken said patiently. "You have to hide because if you don't, well, let's just say it won't be a pleasant experience."

"I'm not…" she started to protest.

"I'm not asking you to trust me. You can get hauled off and turned into a two-headed chicken or something, if that's what you desire. It's really your choice."

Merle hesitated for a moment. She was far from wanting to take his advice, but the other option didn't seem very inviting. She sighed and nodded.

"In here." Eriya shoved her into a closet, worry making her a bit rougher than she would have liked to be, and locked the door.

"What's going on here?" she heard a deep voice ask. Most likely it belonged to a Zaibach soldier. She held her breath; hoping Folken wouldn't betray her too.

"Nothing," Folken said lightly. "The sorcerers are probably doing some experiment down the hall. It must've been their newest lab rat."
"Hmm." There was a long pause. "Yeah, probably. Well, I don't want to mix with those guys. Sorry to disturb you, Lord Folken." More footsteps followed and than she heard the door slam shut.

Folken and the girls all let out sighs of relief simultaneously. "All clear." Naria opened the door and let her out.

"I suppose it's a good thing that most people here hate the sorcerers so much," Folken remarked. "You okay, Merle?"

She glared at him. "I don't owe you anything."
He shrugged coolly, as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Whatever. " He turned to the others. "Could you please give us a moment?"
"Yes, Lord Folken." They bowed and departed from the room.

Now that they were alone, Merle used the opportunity to study him carefully. She knew he was Folken, she didn't doubt that. But he seemed so different, so serious. So sad. She checked off in her mind the differences in his appearance. His hair wasn't quite as floppy as it used to be; now it was more a pineapple shape. That tattoo was definitely new. Those clothes… he had always disliked black. But the detail that disturbed her most was one she didn't notice right away. The shiny metal claw that took the place of his right hand, no, his whole right arm, mostly covered by his long sorcerer's cape.

"H-how did you…"

"The dragon tore it off. I thought I was going to die. I accepted that, even though I'd never see you or Van or my mother again. And then it stopped. It didn't kill me, even though it could have. For some reason it didn't kill me." He paused for a moment and than said something she didn't expect. "Maybe it should have. Sometimes I wonder if I don't deserve it."

"Y-you do…" Her whole body quavered, but she continued. "You betrayed us. Abandoned us. You made Lord Van become a king, even though he didn't want to. Your mother died looking for you. You should have been killed. Or at least come back and face your failure like a man. Traitors shouldn't live." He sighed. "Does Lord Van know?"
Folken nodded. "Yes, Van knows. And he's as furious with me as you are."

"Well, of course he's furious with you. You…" Merle was about to repeat her speech, but he cut her off.

"I don't blame him for being furious with me. I don't blame you either. There are times when I'm furious with myself. It was never my intention to put him through this. I regret it every day."
"Then why did you do it?" Merle asked. "You could have come back. The fact that you didn't is cowardly."

He shrugged. "Could I? I guess we'll never know. I'm in way too deep now to just come back. That door was closed the day I got this arm." He clenched his metal claw into a fist and slammed it into the table.

Merle backed away, alarmed at this sudden burst of anger. The Folken she remembered had been so calm, so cool. This Folken had been like that too, until now."

"I'm sorry," he said, relaxing a little. "Now I know what Balgus meant when he said a king must be in control of his feelings. Not that I'm a king."

"You could have been." Merle reminded him.

"Could I?" He repeated. "Even if I did come back, I didn't earn the right to be. And even if I had slayed the dragon and went through the whole ceremony, would that really make me a king? What do you think, Merle?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess a king has to care a lot about his people, enough to take responsibility for them."

He sighed again. "Maybe that was my problem. I just didn't care enough."

Merle bit her lip thoughtfully. She almost felt bad for him. He seemed so confused, so lost. For all he had done, he and Van weren't so different after all. But she still couldn't forgive him. Not after what he did.