Disclaimer: Drill: I don't own anything except OCs and storyline.
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Episode #3
The Edge Of Reasoning
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Golden sunshine poured down on Yukari's dark hair. She opened her eyes. A familiar face hovering over her.
"A-Amano!" she said, alarmed.
"Are you all right, Yukari?" Amano asked.
"Yes... Hitomi! Hitomi, she's disappeared again!" Yukari yelled.
"What?!" Amano jumped.
"It was that light again! I-it carried her away again! I saw it!" Yukari cried, gripping Amano's school jacket tightly as tears began to fall from her eyes.
Amano stood very still. His face held a seriousness that would make a king cringe. And, in his mind, he thought long and hard.
'Oh, Hitomi! Why have you left us again?'
* * * * *
"Uhhhh...," Hitomi groaned, her stomach hurt from the gash.
She saw darkness. She could see the sky was an ominous black from an opening in her peripheral vision. She was in a cave.
Out of the shadows emerged the man who had struck her over the head. She saw he was with someone else: another cloaked figure wrapped in black. They seemed to be arguing about something from the way they were cussing at each other. The man who had hit her suddenly pointed in her direction. She gasped. Had he seen that she was awake and listening?
The two came a bit closer, some two or three meters closer, and she could now hear a bit of their conversation.
"Can't you see? She's the one!" said one.
"Yes, but... she's so young," replied the other.
"It doesn't matter! Either you do it, or I will!"
Hitomi froze, she tried to summon an idea of what they were talking about from what Scython had told her earlier, but failed. What were they going to do to her? What if they tried to kill her? Hitomi began gagging at the dryness in her mouth, caused by her own nerve-festering guessing game. She thought that if she turned over she would stop gagging, but then the two men would realize she was awake. What was she to do?
She lay there, trying in vain to wet her poor throat. The feeling that she was going to die for such a stupid reason was too much for her. She turned to her side and let out a tremendous cough, making the men turn to look straight at her. She froze again. They looked away in annoyance.
* * * * *
Candlelight shown seriously on Celena and Millerna's faces. Though it was far passed their usual turn-in time, they waited for Hitomi to return. Millerna waited from worry for her old, beloved friend; and from the sincere promise she had made to Van. Celena waited from her feverish worry about her new little friend, Hitomi.
At Millerna's side, Dryden slept, his arm slung over Millerna's shoulder and his mouth hanging a bit open. Van slept in the chair right beside Dryden's resting place, his arms folded, his eyes closed, and his right ankle crossed over his left knee. Allen slept sitting up as well, in the chair next to Celena's silhouetted figure against the firelight.
Both women sat proud and tall. Both were ladies of honourable positions, and the focus of great expectations because of those positions. However, they did have their times when they would bicker at one another. When Millerna had courage to break the silence, she delivered a concern of hers.
"I hope Hitomi is all right out there..."
"So do I," Celena replied, glancing out the window at the heavy rain pouring down.
* * * * *
Hitomi felt a hand grasping her by the collar again.
'Oh no,' she thought. 'What are they going to do to me?'
She opened her eyes to see Scython, pulling her to her feet. Behind him, she could see the forms of the two men who had been talking earlier. They were lying in full pools of shining crimson. Slowly snaking its way along the floor, the crimson liquid had almost reached her feet. She was frightened. What if Scython was really going to kill her like he did the other two!? She panicked.
"It's all right now," Scython said softly.
"Y-you killed those men," Hitomi stammered between gasps of fear.
"No, I did not! They killed each other, deciding on what to do with you. You'd better thank your lucky stars that they disagreed to just stabbing you with a knife through the heart, or you would have been dead by now," Scython said passively, glancing over at the two men. Such violent acts as he had just mentioned were nothing new to him.
Hitomi did thank the heavens for the fortunate argument.
"But for now, we had best get you home," Scython interrupted her thoughts.
Hitomi hastily agreed and Scython lifted her up into the saddle of a great ebony stallion waiting outside the cave.
"Now go, and don't worry about returning him. He knows the way back to my door as well as I," Scython rumbled after whispering instructions into the proud animals ear on where to take Hitomi.
"One more thing," he glanced at her. "Nightmare changes colour. By night, he's black; come the day, his hide is white. When you ride him at sunrise, he will gradually transition: do not be alarmed."
* * * * *
Celena stood on the balcony: she was the only one awake now. Millerna had tried to keep vigilant through the predawn hours, but her weariness had, in the end, overcome her. When she had seen Millerna's drowsiness, the fair Schezar maiden had told her queen to sleep. She would continue to watch, until daybreak if need be.
Celena looked up the road, to the edge of the courtyard of the castle. Then, an old, long-loved poem of her childhood returned to her, and she whispered it to the wind.
"Wait for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
Suddenly, she heard it! In the distant, very faintly, the sound of an approaching steed, thumping its feet hard on the cobblestone of Astoria's city roads. Pounding into the courtyard was a death black horse. The rider, tall and cloaked in black, wore a hood that shrouded his face. He pointed straight up at Celena and in her mind, she heard a strange and deep voice.
'You are befriended to the girl, Hitomi Kanzaki, are you not?' the voice said.
"Y-yes...," Celena replied feebly. She felt as if the voice in her head was forcing her to answer somehow.
'I wish to speak with her,' it said coldly.
"S-she's not here right now," Celena quivered, from both breeze and him.
She saw the rider grimace under his hood, as if he was frustrated that she was not there.
'When she returns, tell her that I seek an audience with her two nightfalls from now, in the Mistill Woods, to the south.'
At that, the rider reared his horse and galloped through the courtyard gates. How strange, Celena thought it, that she saw neither his horse nor him heading down the road beyond the gates. It was as if he had vanished into thin air! It made Celena feel spooked out of her wits, and her bones felt chilled to the marrow.
Celena wiped her hand along her forehead in relief, that rider had given her a strange premonition. As she moved her hand back onto the stone railing of the balcony, she noticed a smear of crimson on the back of her hand. She touched her forehead again, and realized her forehead was bleeding for no reason. She wiped it away with a scrap of cloth she always carried around and kept staring into the distance, looking for Hitomi, and looming on her frightening encounter; which she decided not to speak of to anyone but Hitomi, when she returned.
* * * * *
The next morning dawned and still, there was no sign of Hitomi. At this point, Van was about ready to go back to Fanelia and reawaken Escaflowne so he could go look for her! Until they saw another horse charging down the main road, this time it had shining white hide (much to Celena's relief!). Riding it, was Hitomi. As she came up to the party, Van snatched her off the horse and kissed her with all his might.
Nightmare turned. He looked back at the happy couple for a moment, then ran out of the courtyard and through the city, leaving his unwarranted good deed without praise or thanks.
Merle watched Hitomi and Van. She thought of how many times she had tried to take Hitomi away from Van so he would turn to her for love. But, he still dreamt of Hitomi even then, so what was the point? Merle walked into the castle. She couldn't bare another second of the rejection Van and Hitomi didn't mean to put her through, but were.
Van put Hitomi down and he then closed his eyes and scolded her for "Putting my wits at their ends like that!". They all went inside just then. Hitomi told them of all that had happened: of Scython and his story, of the two men and how they died, and of 'The Prince Of Darkness.' The dark prince's story was the one that was brought up and worried about most of all.
"So, this prince wants to use you to destroy Gaea and the Mystic Moon?" Millerna said in disbelief.
"Yes, and Scython says he won't stop until he gets me," Hitomi replied.
"We must declare war!" Van said, standing up.
"My dear Lord—!" Damen began to plead with his king.
"Wait, Van!" Dryden interjected, "We mustn't rush into these things. War is a very big deal. We must consider the consequences if we should choose to declare war."
"That's right, Van," Millerna said, looking at the raven-haired king. "Do you wish to put your people through the fear of having their lives end like in the fight against Zaibach? Of losing their homes? Of losing Fanelia again?"
Van looked down at his feet, unwilling to look at them. They were right, and he knew it. He didn't wish to put his people through that again. Vengeance had taken its full toll on him and he did not wish to have it happen again. Then, with all the courage he could muster, he said in a low, defeated tone.
"No."
Hitomi starred silently at Van. That was proof enough for Hitomi, he was truly a man now. He had put the needs of many before the needs of the few as a king — no, a man — should. She would have stared forever a his deep, black eyes but for Dryden interrupting her thoughts. She seemed to be getting a lot of that lately.
"The peoples of Astoria and Fanelia must work as one in order to avoid this war without giving Hitomi to this Prince Of Darkness. It is my job as Astoria's king to say unto you, Van Fanel, King of Fanelia, that my country, my people, and my belief are in your favour."
Van looked up at Dryden with admiration. Then he said:
"And my country, my people, and my belief are in your favour, Dryden Aston, King of Astoria. I hope as well as you that we can avoid this war at all costs without handing over Hitomi."
Hitomi leaned over to Millerna and Celena. "That was very well spoken by both, don't you think?"
"Indeed," Celena and Millerna whispered back.
Dryden's voice interjected that secret conversation.
"So, let it be known from this moment forward, that Astoria and Fanelia are partners in peace, and in war!"
"May our two countries grow and prosper many times over in peace," Van added.
Hitomi closed her eyes. 'The two countries are finally true allies. Now, we will find this prince and show him that friendship and justice will always prevail, no matter how much it seems that evil is winning the game of peace and war. So now, it begins.'
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Episode #3
The Edge Of Reasoning
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Golden sunshine poured down on Yukari's dark hair. She opened her eyes. A familiar face hovering over her.
"A-Amano!" she said, alarmed.
"Are you all right, Yukari?" Amano asked.
"Yes... Hitomi! Hitomi, she's disappeared again!" Yukari yelled.
"What?!" Amano jumped.
"It was that light again! I-it carried her away again! I saw it!" Yukari cried, gripping Amano's school jacket tightly as tears began to fall from her eyes.
Amano stood very still. His face held a seriousness that would make a king cringe. And, in his mind, he thought long and hard.
'Oh, Hitomi! Why have you left us again?'
* * * * *
"Uhhhh...," Hitomi groaned, her stomach hurt from the gash.
She saw darkness. She could see the sky was an ominous black from an opening in her peripheral vision. She was in a cave.
Out of the shadows emerged the man who had struck her over the head. She saw he was with someone else: another cloaked figure wrapped in black. They seemed to be arguing about something from the way they were cussing at each other. The man who had hit her suddenly pointed in her direction. She gasped. Had he seen that she was awake and listening?
The two came a bit closer, some two or three meters closer, and she could now hear a bit of their conversation.
"Can't you see? She's the one!" said one.
"Yes, but... she's so young," replied the other.
"It doesn't matter! Either you do it, or I will!"
Hitomi froze, she tried to summon an idea of what they were talking about from what Scython had told her earlier, but failed. What were they going to do to her? What if they tried to kill her? Hitomi began gagging at the dryness in her mouth, caused by her own nerve-festering guessing game. She thought that if she turned over she would stop gagging, but then the two men would realize she was awake. What was she to do?
She lay there, trying in vain to wet her poor throat. The feeling that she was going to die for such a stupid reason was too much for her. She turned to her side and let out a tremendous cough, making the men turn to look straight at her. She froze again. They looked away in annoyance.
* * * * *
Candlelight shown seriously on Celena and Millerna's faces. Though it was far passed their usual turn-in time, they waited for Hitomi to return. Millerna waited from worry for her old, beloved friend; and from the sincere promise she had made to Van. Celena waited from her feverish worry about her new little friend, Hitomi.
At Millerna's side, Dryden slept, his arm slung over Millerna's shoulder and his mouth hanging a bit open. Van slept in the chair right beside Dryden's resting place, his arms folded, his eyes closed, and his right ankle crossed over his left knee. Allen slept sitting up as well, in the chair next to Celena's silhouetted figure against the firelight.
Both women sat proud and tall. Both were ladies of honourable positions, and the focus of great expectations because of those positions. However, they did have their times when they would bicker at one another. When Millerna had courage to break the silence, she delivered a concern of hers.
"I hope Hitomi is all right out there..."
"So do I," Celena replied, glancing out the window at the heavy rain pouring down.
* * * * *
Hitomi felt a hand grasping her by the collar again.
'Oh no,' she thought. 'What are they going to do to me?'
She opened her eyes to see Scython, pulling her to her feet. Behind him, she could see the forms of the two men who had been talking earlier. They were lying in full pools of shining crimson. Slowly snaking its way along the floor, the crimson liquid had almost reached her feet. She was frightened. What if Scython was really going to kill her like he did the other two!? She panicked.
"It's all right now," Scython said softly.
"Y-you killed those men," Hitomi stammered between gasps of fear.
"No, I did not! They killed each other, deciding on what to do with you. You'd better thank your lucky stars that they disagreed to just stabbing you with a knife through the heart, or you would have been dead by now," Scython said passively, glancing over at the two men. Such violent acts as he had just mentioned were nothing new to him.
Hitomi did thank the heavens for the fortunate argument.
"But for now, we had best get you home," Scython interrupted her thoughts.
Hitomi hastily agreed and Scython lifted her up into the saddle of a great ebony stallion waiting outside the cave.
"Now go, and don't worry about returning him. He knows the way back to my door as well as I," Scython rumbled after whispering instructions into the proud animals ear on where to take Hitomi.
"One more thing," he glanced at her. "Nightmare changes colour. By night, he's black; come the day, his hide is white. When you ride him at sunrise, he will gradually transition: do not be alarmed."
* * * * *
Celena stood on the balcony: she was the only one awake now. Millerna had tried to keep vigilant through the predawn hours, but her weariness had, in the end, overcome her. When she had seen Millerna's drowsiness, the fair Schezar maiden had told her queen to sleep. She would continue to watch, until daybreak if need be.
Celena looked up the road, to the edge of the courtyard of the castle. Then, an old, long-loved poem of her childhood returned to her, and she whispered it to the wind.
"Wait for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
Suddenly, she heard it! In the distant, very faintly, the sound of an approaching steed, thumping its feet hard on the cobblestone of Astoria's city roads. Pounding into the courtyard was a death black horse. The rider, tall and cloaked in black, wore a hood that shrouded his face. He pointed straight up at Celena and in her mind, she heard a strange and deep voice.
'You are befriended to the girl, Hitomi Kanzaki, are you not?' the voice said.
"Y-yes...," Celena replied feebly. She felt as if the voice in her head was forcing her to answer somehow.
'I wish to speak with her,' it said coldly.
"S-she's not here right now," Celena quivered, from both breeze and him.
She saw the rider grimace under his hood, as if he was frustrated that she was not there.
'When she returns, tell her that I seek an audience with her two nightfalls from now, in the Mistill Woods, to the south.'
At that, the rider reared his horse and galloped through the courtyard gates. How strange, Celena thought it, that she saw neither his horse nor him heading down the road beyond the gates. It was as if he had vanished into thin air! It made Celena feel spooked out of her wits, and her bones felt chilled to the marrow.
Celena wiped her hand along her forehead in relief, that rider had given her a strange premonition. As she moved her hand back onto the stone railing of the balcony, she noticed a smear of crimson on the back of her hand. She touched her forehead again, and realized her forehead was bleeding for no reason. She wiped it away with a scrap of cloth she always carried around and kept staring into the distance, looking for Hitomi, and looming on her frightening encounter; which she decided not to speak of to anyone but Hitomi, when she returned.
* * * * *
The next morning dawned and still, there was no sign of Hitomi. At this point, Van was about ready to go back to Fanelia and reawaken Escaflowne so he could go look for her! Until they saw another horse charging down the main road, this time it had shining white hide (much to Celena's relief!). Riding it, was Hitomi. As she came up to the party, Van snatched her off the horse and kissed her with all his might.
Nightmare turned. He looked back at the happy couple for a moment, then ran out of the courtyard and through the city, leaving his unwarranted good deed without praise or thanks.
Merle watched Hitomi and Van. She thought of how many times she had tried to take Hitomi away from Van so he would turn to her for love. But, he still dreamt of Hitomi even then, so what was the point? Merle walked into the castle. She couldn't bare another second of the rejection Van and Hitomi didn't mean to put her through, but were.
Van put Hitomi down and he then closed his eyes and scolded her for "Putting my wits at their ends like that!". They all went inside just then. Hitomi told them of all that had happened: of Scython and his story, of the two men and how they died, and of 'The Prince Of Darkness.' The dark prince's story was the one that was brought up and worried about most of all.
"So, this prince wants to use you to destroy Gaea and the Mystic Moon?" Millerna said in disbelief.
"Yes, and Scython says he won't stop until he gets me," Hitomi replied.
"We must declare war!" Van said, standing up.
"My dear Lord—!" Damen began to plead with his king.
"Wait, Van!" Dryden interjected, "We mustn't rush into these things. War is a very big deal. We must consider the consequences if we should choose to declare war."
"That's right, Van," Millerna said, looking at the raven-haired king. "Do you wish to put your people through the fear of having their lives end like in the fight against Zaibach? Of losing their homes? Of losing Fanelia again?"
Van looked down at his feet, unwilling to look at them. They were right, and he knew it. He didn't wish to put his people through that again. Vengeance had taken its full toll on him and he did not wish to have it happen again. Then, with all the courage he could muster, he said in a low, defeated tone.
"No."
Hitomi starred silently at Van. That was proof enough for Hitomi, he was truly a man now. He had put the needs of many before the needs of the few as a king — no, a man — should. She would have stared forever a his deep, black eyes but for Dryden interrupting her thoughts. She seemed to be getting a lot of that lately.
"The peoples of Astoria and Fanelia must work as one in order to avoid this war without giving Hitomi to this Prince Of Darkness. It is my job as Astoria's king to say unto you, Van Fanel, King of Fanelia, that my country, my people, and my belief are in your favour."
Van looked up at Dryden with admiration. Then he said:
"And my country, my people, and my belief are in your favour, Dryden Aston, King of Astoria. I hope as well as you that we can avoid this war at all costs without handing over Hitomi."
Hitomi leaned over to Millerna and Celena. "That was very well spoken by both, don't you think?"
"Indeed," Celena and Millerna whispered back.
Dryden's voice interjected that secret conversation.
"So, let it be known from this moment forward, that Astoria and Fanelia are partners in peace, and in war!"
"May our two countries grow and prosper many times over in peace," Van added.
Hitomi closed her eyes. 'The two countries are finally true allies. Now, we will find this prince and show him that friendship and justice will always prevail, no matter how much it seems that evil is winning the game of peace and war. So now, it begins.'
TO BE CONTINUED...