Escaflowne: Visions of the Past Chapter 2: The Thief and the Light, an escaflowne fanfic

Escaflowne: Visons of the Past

Author's note: I totally forgot to mention the meaning of the Seven of Cups in the first chapter. Each chapter, just like in the show, has a tarot card that will signify some element in the story. In this case the first card indicates that the seeker has too many dreams and desires, all in the realm of the impossible. Basically his forces have been scattered.

Hope you are enjoying the story thus far, I know I'm enjoying writing it. ^_^

Chapter 2: The Thief and the Light (Seven of Swords)

Tyndell had been sitting near the castle entrance for over an hour now, and his butt was starting to fall to sleep. He shifted just a bit under his disguise, but it still did him little good. The heavy garments were a pain in the butt to move around in, and the false hump was putting strain on his back and cramps in his shoulders. Not to mention the fact that the cloak, and face paint were not the best things to have on in the middle of a country that was known for its spring like climate. Still a job was a job, and if he wasn't the man for it who was then.

"Say mister," a young boy said shaking him. Tyndell looked up at the boy, he was only about eight or something, dressed in servant garb, and had sweat and soot on his face. The boy gave a light gasp when he looked at Tyndell's face, and saw the startling emerald eyes that lay under the fake wrinkled old face. Behind this mask Tyndell chucked to himself. Little did the lad know that he'd been the first to see Tyndell's best masque yet. A beggar, who spouted the great poets, and would humbly tell a story in order to get some simple food, and looked like he was a million years old, yes it was one of his better costumes.

"Ahhhh, ahhh, Fine boy, humble that you are," Tyndell said kindly. "Would you waste your day looking out at the stars? Gaze upon this old weary face and see, what lies in wait unless thou are kind to thee. For fortune is cruel to youths who are not true, help me and I shall help you."

"Uh, Uh," the boy babbled, and Tyndell stood up, and hobbled up to the boy.

"Haste boy, make haste, and show me where your food lies so that I will not be eaten by the flies. These old bones are of little use to me. Tell me son, where the food be."

"The kitchen, sir," the boy squirmed under Tyndell's intense gaze. He opened the door again, "Here I'll show you."

"Thank thee lad," said Tyndell as he wandered into the kitchen. "The Gods smile upon those that help, and show that they are not mad, rather they are willing to smile down upon a young whelp. And foster the love that all is dealt."

"Yeah, uh, right," the boy said setting a place for Tyndell. "The cook said that I'm supposed to be nice to guys in the alley that are willing to say a poem or two to pay for their food. And I guess that's what you just did. So here's some bread, and cheese, and meat, and a glass of port."

Tyndell thanked the lad, and thought to himself sadly, "And this is a land that is suppose to have the best artist and poets in the world, and here is a boy that doesn't even know a limerick from a masterpiece, pity."

He ate for an hour or so then went wandering around the castle. The guards were all out in the front, or up on the upper levels protecting the two Princesses, so naturally they wouldn't dare to be in the art gallery. Slowly he made his way to the small wooden room besides the throne room and looked around.

"Now, what did that guy say, oh yeah, behind the picture of the golden Griffin," Tyndell thought sweetly and came upon a rather large painting of a gold colored Griffin. "But it's not this one, it's gotta be behind something smaller."

He looked around again and spotted two other midsized painting, but disregarded them as well. "Not the right style…"

Upon further inspection of the room he began to think he'd been taken, and cursed to himself softly for being set up. But then just as he was about to give up, he spotted a small painting that was covered in dust.

"Now why," he wondered aloud, "would they not clean you up?"

He ran his nimble fingers along the edge of the frame and realized it was bolted to the wall, "Odd. Very much so."

"Now where do you suppose they would hide a switch," he was muttering as he wandered about the room again and looked at the painting. In it was a golden griffin, wings out stretched pointing up, and Tyndell followed its steely gaze. There, just above the painting, was a stain glass window with a white dragon and this was pointing to something behind him, so Tyndell turned around. There on the opposite wall was a painting of a grove, and four girls, one only a baby, the other three older. Tyndell admired them for a few moments. The eldest girl was charming; the one holding the baby could have only been about seven or eight, but the middle one. Now there was a woman who had fire in her eyes.

"Humm, wonder what makes you burn," he whispered to no one, and then realized that the shadows of the girls were converging together to form an arrow that pointed to the floor below them. Tyndell took a step back and heard a click, and whirled around. The griffin painting moved up, and a shelf with a blue energist slid out. He smiled and raced back over to the now exposed energist and gently picked it up. The power he felt from just touching it tingled in his fingers.

"Get a lode of this baby, and who would have thought that you'd be hiding right under everyone's noses." Tyndell laughed and pocked the stone, then slipped out of the room.

"All going perfectly," he thought and made his way back to the throne room. That's when a young guardsman spotted him.

"Hey there you!"

"Eh, Me officer…"

"What were you doing in the gallery just now?"

"Pardon, these old ears, have a terrible time hearing people, come a little closer so I can understand you."

The guardsman moved a bit closer and saw a bulge in Tyndell's pocket. Tyndell immediately turned slightly to cover it up and that made the man even more suspicious.

"What have you got there?"

"Oh, that; that's nothing…"

"Is it now," shouted the guard and grabbed Tyndell, holding up his sword to Tyndell's chin. "Who are you? And what are you doing in this palace."

Tyndell chuckled and the guard shook him, "Stop laughing! Just who are you?!"

"Why me, I'm the best thief in all of Gaea, in fact they call me the Emperor of Crooks, and Sovereign of Robbers. But you can call me Tyndell."

The guard laughed, and growled, "Like hell you are, show me your face. I heard that the Emperor of Thieves was supposed to be amazingly handsome, but all you are, are an old, wrinkled swindler."

"Really, that's funny, because my mother always said I'd make an exceptional looking prince." Tyndell replied and slashed at the guardsman's face with a long knife. The younger man jumped back and Tyndell pulled off the top part of his costume, and rubbed off most of the paint. He couldn't be old then nineteen, and the confidence he had in his standing was enough to catch anyone by surprise. He had bright sharp green eyes, and a small, slightly pointed nose that went well with the elfish quality of his young face, and a somewhat pointy chin and ears. His hair was red, a bit wind swept, and the bangs were pushed over his right eye. A devilish grin lingered on his lips, and he had on a large gold chocker about his neck. From his right ear dangled a gold dragon fang earring, while hanging on the left was a miniature dagger.

"And now I'll take my leave," and he kicked out one of the glass windows in the throne room, and then dove out landing on the walk way below. The guard had jumped to his feet at once, and saw him land; it seemed as if he floated down, or at least something had slowed him up a bit.

"Stop Thief!" the guard screamed and blew a whistle. "Stop! Someone, Stop him, he's stolen something from the palace!"

"Damn," Tyndell thought hoisting up the long cloak he'd covered himself in. "Should have thrown this off!"

Elyosis rushed towards the palace, her feet digging into the sand and then the mud as she climbed up a steep embankment, cutting her face on the branches of bushes that grew around the beaches.

"Stupid, Stupid," she said to herself, cutting with her shorter sword, and pushing past the vines and other debris that blocked her path. She raced up to the castle wall that blocked the courtyard from the outer land beyond and squeezed under a hole that she had dug when she was small. "Confound it, I thought I'd grown, but this is ridiculous!"

Once she managed to get through she jogged towards the sound of the commotion. She climbed up onto a bridge, and crawled up vine racks that led to a ledge over the main courtyard. There she saw a young man surrounded by several guards. He was tall, not very, but still much taller then she, and he looked quite upset about something.

"So, you thought you could escape, did you," Lysander's second in command, Derrick, was saying to the man with red hair. "Thought you could out fox us then, did you? I've heard of you, Tyndell, the King of Thieves, also known as Tyndell the Red Fox. So what are you going to do now?"

"And also known as Tyndell of the beauteous green eyes by the ladies," Tyndell smiled, and held up his hands, showing off the blue energist that he'd taken. Elyosis gasped, and felt anger rise up in her. That stone, that energist, had been given to the family years ago. It was the key to waking Ewygkeit, and no one, outside of Lysander, was suppose to touch it. While she did not like Lysander, she wasn't about to let the energist get stolen right from under her nose. Elyosis thought of the face he would make, the reaction he would have, and the hell that would be brought down right upon the guard if he got away. She so wanted to be a hero, to make her late sister Lynette proud, and here was her chance. She would prove to the Council that it was she, not Lysander, who deserved the title of Aitheros' champion, and the one who should use the Guymelef.

Tyndell had run as far as he possible could in the castle maze like outer wall. Trying desperately to out maneuver the guards; but with the drag of the cloak and his patience wearing thin, he was starting to make amateurish mistakes. Including the one where he was led into a boxed in area by them, and now was surrounded. Up seemed the most logical answer, but he didn't want to show off his secrets. If anyone discovered how he made his getaways so fast it would be the end of him. But what choice did he have.

The guard had just told him to put his hands up, and he did so, showing the blue energist that he'd taken. Maybe he could fool them into thinking he'd smash it if they tried to capture him. He smiled. He wished he could have gotten out of there, wished that there was some place to go. But there was none, and so he had to play this card, or he was dead.

"So you want this back huh," and started to toss it about from hand to hand. The guards were stunned; obviously this object was something very rare, why else was the guy at the bar so intent about getting his hands on it that he'd offered four times as much as Tyndell had asked for. "Whoops, not a step closer or I'll loose my concentration, and then smashy-smash, right fellows…"

"I'll show you smashy-smash!" a youthful voice shouted above him and Tyndell looked up to see a knight with blonde hair standing on a ledge. "Drop that and you'll wish you were never born!"

"What the hell," Tyndell shouted as the knight leapt off the ledge, sword drawn and aimed right for his face. That's when the energist started to glow in his hand. Then a shaft of light appeared out of the sky and enveloped him. Tyndell let out a cry and vanished from sight!

"Haaaayaaaa!" Elyosis screamed as she lunged at the thief, her eyes burning brightly. He was shocked, and wasn't paying attention. She had him, and the expressions of the guards made this too priceless to not enjoy. That's when the energist started to glow, and suddenly a bright light engulfed the young man. She heard him scream and soon she too was caught up in the beam of white light.

"Derrick, help me!" she cried, and heard the knight call out her name. But he couldn't reach her and she vanished into thin air, turning into pure energy, and slipped up into the night sky with the white beam.

In his room in Asturia, Allen Chezar was reading a book. He'd just been in to check on his sister Celena, and was now relaxing. The day had been quite trying, and he was having a hard time getting a read on Sir. Lysander. So it was nice to just lean back and let his mind wander.

The serenity was broken by Celena's cries. Allen bolted from his chair wondering if it was another one of her nightmares. The doctors had been working hard trying to sort out her memories, but they were always running into problems, or in some cases, Celena would go into Dilandu mode, and rant and rave about his lost Dragon Slayers and not know where he was.

Rushing into the room he found her awake by the window, staring out into the night sky. "Allen, come quick. Look, it's…"

She pointed out the white beam of light. Allen gasped, "Not again…Hitomi."

"What's wrong," Millerna said coming into the room followed by Sir. Lysander who looked very pale.

"Sir. Allen," Lysander inquired in a choking voice. "What's going on? Why the screaming?!"

"I –I saw the white light," Celena explained and looked at Allen. "You, you don't think Zaibach is…"

"No, no, they're not coming for you," Allen said gently hugging his sister, and pulling her protectively into his arms. "I won't let them take you away again, Celena, I promise."

"We won't," corrected Millerna and gently put her arms around her soon to be sister. Lysander glanced out the window, and his eyes widened.

"No, that light, it's…It's coming from Aitheros…"

In Snjór Deo watched in awe as the bright light shot up towards the heavens. He gapped at it as it made its way towards the Earth.

"No wait, please," he screamed tears running down his face. "Take me with you please…"

But it was gone and he fell onto his bed, sobbing, "Take me with you…I want to go back home."

In Fanelia Van woke up from a startling dream. In it he'd seen a girl fly off a ledge, fire in her eyes, at a young man, screaming something. But she and the young man were surrounded by the same white light that had once brought Hitomi to Gaea. He shuddered, they're cries were haunting, as if both were dieing. But the light had never felt like that, it was a warm and gentle thing. So why were they so scared? Was it because it had been so unexpected? He supposed that could have been the only answer.

It was then that the pendent glowed again and Van's heart raced, for an instant he saw Hitomi, she looked terrified, and there were two others there as well, but he couldn't get a good look at either.

"Hitomi," he cried out trying to reach for her, and she called out to him.

"Van, help me!"

"Hitomi, hold on…" then the vision vanished. Van felt cold sweat run down his face. Was he having a waking nightmare or was it all really happening on the Mystic Moon. He struggled to his feet, and rubbed his head. This was how Hitomi must have felt all those times she had her visions, he decided, and he being dumb enough to act rude to her all that time. A knock on the door made him sit up, and one of the Fanalian knights peeked in.

"Your grace, there's been a light sighting over the forest…"

"Hitomi," Van thought. Several minutes later he and eight guards rode up to the forest, for a second it all seemed peaceful, but then…

"Sire, we found her," two guards who had been on duty that night patrolling the area stepped from the woods. One was carrying a girl with blonde hair, and Van recognized her armor at once.

"She's of the Royal house of Aitheros, Princess Elyosis," Van said and Elyosis eyes blinked open.

"King Van? Fanalia…" she shuddered. Van got off his horse and wandered over to look at Elyosis. Her face was cut, and she blood trickling out of her mouth.

"We found her in a tree, must have taken a big tumble…" said the second knight. Van nodded, and looked up at the sky.

"It'll be alright," Van told her kindly, as he looked at Elyosis with a smile. Her eyes blinked and she was breathing harshly. Suddenly she grabbed hold of Van's shirt and pulled him roughly to her face.

"Tell Lysander, Tyndell the Red Fox, he stole…stole the blue…blue energist."

"What…what do you mean…" Van started to ask but gritted her teeth.

"Tell him, tell him please. He's gone…"

"Gone? Who's gone…where too…"

"Tyndell, the famous thief; he stole a blue energist, and disappeared. He's gone to the Mystic Moon."

Elyosis became limp, and her grip relaxed enough for Van to move away. He looked up at the sky. Fear tightened in his chest. He'd heard stories about Tyndell, a thief like no other, who would do just about anything to get away. Never was caught, and if he was on the Mystic moon, that could led to all sorts of dangers for Hitomi.

"Hitomi," Van whispered into the night.

To be continued

Author's footnote: The seven of swords is a card indicates that a person will not get fully away with what he is plotting, and as in this case with Tyndell.