Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me.
While the Cat's Away
Chapter Four
Hitomi blinked. She reached up and touched her forehead. A wet cloth was lying there. She glanced around the room, her own room in the castle. None of her friends were there, but she could hear their voices outside.
"What happened?" She mumbled sleepily to herself. She reached for her pendant, which was on the table next to her. But that wasn't what she picked up. It was Merle's nail file. Now she remembered. She sprung out of bed, grabbed her pendant, and headed for the door, bumping right into Millerna.
"Oh, you're awake. I was just coming to check on you. Feeling better?"
"Where's Van?" Hitomi asked urgently.
"Down the hall, I think. But…" She pushed past her. "Wait a minute!" Millerna chased after her. "Are you sure you're up to this? You should be taking it easy. You just fainted… Hey, wait for me!"
"No time to talk Millerna. I have to find Van. We have to hurry." She sprinted down the hall, leaving Millerna in the dust.
The princess sighed. "Lunatic."
* * * * * *
"Hold still," Folken said. He was holding a large, intimidating pair of tweezers.
Merle squirmed and whimpered in pain. "Leave it alone."
"Relax. It'll only take a second… There, all done." Folken showed her the shard of glass that he'd pulled out of her foot. "See, that wasn't so bad."
Merle rubbed her foot and frowned at him. "Yeah, it was."
He laughed. "Big baby." "Ha, ha, ha." Merle jumped off the table. She winced when she landed on her bad foot, but didn't say anything. "If you're not going to kill me, than send me home."
He looked at her oddly. "Why would I want to kill you?"
She shrugged not really sure of the answer herself. "I don't know. But what was the point of capturing me?"
Now it was he who was without answers. "Well, I didn't tell them to. They did it on their own. I'm glad though, even if you're still mad at me." He soaked a strip of cloth. "Give me your foot." He wrapped it around the wound and knotted it at the top to keep it in place.
"Thank you," she said. She looked surprised at her own gratitude. "I guess I'm not as mad at you as I thought," Merle admitted. "But I still don't understand."
Folken frowned and thought for a moment. "I can give you my reasons for staying here, but that probably won't help any," he said finally. "But I have to say, I never wanted to leave Van alone. That wasn't my intent. I never would have made him become king if I couldn't help it. That's why I offered him a place here, but he refused. It was his decision too, for us to be enemies. I didn't want that to happen. I still don't."
Merle chewed her lip, thinking this over. She knew how Van felt about Zaibach, but passing up the chance to be with his brother again, no matter how angry he was… No wonder why he's always so cranky lately, she thought. Then she sighed. "It must have been some choice for both of you."
Folken nodded. "On one hand, being what your whole family wanted you to be and who you were destined to be, but having the weight of a whole kingdom's future on your shoulders, or being free and all alone. Well, that was my decision, I'm not sure if I made the right one, but…"
"Hmm." She had never thought of it that way. Joining Zaibach did have options Van probably wouldn't have anywhere else. No having to do what's best for your country, doing what he wanted, only him, not being called your majesty or your highness, but just a normal person, surrounded by normal people. One of them might die to become a king, but they were only thinking of the power and glory that came with the position. Merle saw first hand what it really was, even if she hadn't experienced herself. She'd always thought Van would give it up in a heartbeat if he could. Yet he'd been offered the chance and didn't take it. Merle almost wished her had, if it would make him happy. There were so many things he didn't want to do, but did because it was his duty. The things that Folken had escaped.
"Do you miss him?" she blurted out, before she realized it was a stupid question.
But Folken just nodded grimly. "I do. All the time." He paused for a moment, before asking, "Do you think he misses me?"
Merle didn't need to think about the answer for a second. "Yes, he most definitely does." Folken smiled sadly at her. He himself didn't think so. He only wished it were true.
* * * * * *
"Lord Folken!" Naria and Eriya burst into the room, slamming the door shut behind them.
"What's the matter?" he asked. Both looked extremely panicked and nervous, like a dog had been chasing them. They looked as twitchy as, if you'll pardon the pun, cats.
"Emperor Dornkirk wishes to speak with you," Eriya spoke up, breathlessly. She gulped. "We think he knows."
"Stay here," he said sharply to Merle. "You two, stand guard."
"Yes, sir!" They chorused, eager to do something for their beloved master.
He strode out of the room to the chamber where the communication device was. It had been one of Dornkirk's more brilliant ideas, but both a curse and a blessing: It was good for Dornkirk, because he never had to move when he wanted a word with Folken, or anyone else. But it was bad for Folken, for Dornkirk often used it to keep an eye on him, afraid, perhaps, that he would betray them too, like he did his own country and family.
Folken pushed the door open. Dornkirk stared at him through a big glass bubble. "Ys, your majesty?" he asked casually, to avoid suspicion.
"Where is the girl?" Dornkirk commanded.
"What girl?" Folken asked, feigning innocence. Inside, he was trembling.
"The one kidnapped by your soldiers. Why was she not brought to the sorcerers?"
"You are mistaken, my lord. My soldiers brought no one. I have no idea what you are speaking of."
Dornkirk scowled at him. "You dare defy me? See for yourself then." Dornkirk vanished.
Oh no! Folken thought to himself. In his place was Merle, screaming and wriggling as she was held by two Zaibach soldiers, one of whom was the man Folken spoke to before.
"Let me go!" She yelped. She tried to bite one of them, but he was wearing armor. Folken could see Naria and Eriya lying on the floor, unconscious.
Dornkirk's ugly face reappeared. "I suggest you think about it longer before you try to double-cross me."
"What do you want her for? She doesn't have any part in this." He felt two hands grab him from behind. He struggled to free himself from their grip. "She's just an innocent child!"
"Don't even think about escaping," said a gruff voice behind him. He swung his sword lazily and hit Folken in the head, knocking him out cold.
* * * * * *
Folken moaned. He felt cold metal on his face. Wondering why he fell asleep on that, he lifted his head slightly and realized it was resting on his arm. He moved it away, only to hit his head on hard stone. The walls looked hazy to him. Feeling dizzy, he closed his eyes to go to sleep again, only to be awakened by sharp nails digging in his back. "Ouch!" he screamed, fully awake now.
"Sorry," Merle said, though not sounding very sorry. She looked as though she'd enjoyed it thoroughly. "I didn't think I should let you sleep like that. You might have a concussion."
"A what?" Folken rubbed his aching head with his real hand. Whatever it was, it hurt. He stood up, and regretted it instantly. "What happened?" he asked, leaning on the wall for balance. This was also made of stone, like everything else around him, except for a heavy steel door, with a small barred window.
"Welcome to the Zaibach prison," Merle said dryly. "I think this is one of those top security cells." She pointed to the four bored-looking guards standing at the door. "Any ideas on how to get us out?"
Folken thought for a moment, glancing around the dark cell, dark except for a steam of light coming in through a window somewhere. He strained his eyes to see it, as it was very high above them, and pointed it out to Merle. There were no bars, though perhaps there was glass.
"Can you get the glass off so we can get through?" he asked.
Merle flicked her claws, nodding. "It seems wide enough, for one person at a time, anyway. But how do we get up there?"
Folken grinned at her. "You forget who you're with." He pulled off his cloak and revealed a pair of wings, but dark gray ones, not white like Vans. He picked her up at carried her to the window. With a screeching sound, like nails on a chalkboard, Merle scratched out almost all of the glass and pushed it out the window.
"You first," Folken said. He hoisted her out the window. She grabbed the stone ledge. He followed. It was a much tighter squeeze, but without his wings, he was able to do it. They both hung on the ledge, clouds floating under them.
Merle glanced at him. "Okay now that we're out, how do we get down?" She gulped at how far away the ground was.
"Like this," he replied. He let go of the ledge. Merle screamed as he fell, then, at what seemed to her like the last second before he hit the ground, he spread his wings and came back up, hovering next to her.
Nervously, she released her grip and jumped into his open arms, this time, truly trusting him with her life.
* * * * * *
"There's the fortress," Van said, pointing to it with his right hand. His other hand was gripping the reins of the dragon Escaflowne.
Hitomi held him tightly around the waist. Any other time, he would've been happy about that, but he was too distracted now. "Hurry, Van," she said. He urged Escaflowne to go faster.
"Hold it right there!" they heard someone cry. Two very familiar (and unwelcome) guymelefs stood below them.
"It's them again," Hitomi mouthed. Van nodded and drew closer to them.
"What do you two want with Merle? Give her back."
Naria and Eriya jumped out of their guymelefs. "Now isn't the time to be fighting," Naria called to him. "We need your help too. Your friend is in danger."
Van snorted. "Help you? No way." He landed Escaflowne.
"Van, we should listen to them." Hitomi reminded him. "Remember what I saw in my vision."
Van ignored her. He converted Escaflowne back into its regular form and set Hitomi on the ground.
"Let Merle go." He took Escaflowne's sword from its back and pointed it at them.
"We don't want to fight with you," Eriya protested.
Naria frowned. "He won't listen to us anyway." They went back inside of their guymelefs and stood ready.
"This is silly," Hitomi complained. "You shouldn't be fighting. Folken and Merle are both in trouble. They need our help. This is meaningless. Van, stop it."
But they all refused to listen. Van's eyes flashed with anger. He was ready to do battle.