Disclaimer: You know. OC's and storyline are mine, nothing else.
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Episode #4
The Deception
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The pale moons shown brightly on the walls of Astoria's palace. On the balcony of her room, stood a silent and watchful Hitomi. Her eyes were intent and matched that strange aura of the moons themselves. Her presence on the balcony was from a dream she had just had not a half hour earlier...
~*~*~*~*~*~
There were two huge gates, coloured a crimson red and covered in the gore of what used to be human bodies. There, at those gates, Hitomi stood alone, oblivious to all around her save the gates. She called out strange words that she did not know, but, for some reason, could pronounce:
"Dominus de jensu vengei tabu alinous elevais forvre drak lirod."
At that, the gates opened, revealing a dark boy— roughly her age. He was dressed from head to toe in death black robes covered by a black cloak. He rode a huge, death black horse. The boy came forward. With one swift motion, he snatched her up, and carried her into a forest, where the trees were bleeding crimson...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hitomi shook her head: it was just a dream. That's all it was... wasn't it? Interrupting her thoughts was the sound of a knock on her door. Without turning, she gave a quick "Hie!" and turned back to stare at the stars.
She heard faint footsteps approaching, then a soft, warm hand on her shoulder. She looked to her side. Van was standing beside her, staring up at the stars as well. He had one un-gloved hand on her shoulder and the other at his side.
"Van," Hitomi said, reluctant to tell him her dream if he should ask why she was awake.
"Hitomi," Van replied softly.
Hitomi could see the worry in his eyes, he child-like fright just behind his burning irises. It startled her. She had never seen him this worried ever since The Destiny Wars.
"What's the matter, Van?" she asked.
"It's—! ...nothing," Van said.
"Van, what are you hiding?" Hitomi asked again.
"I'm just afraid that this Dark Prince will get you. What will he do to you if he does?"
"I don't know," Hitomi replied, gently stroking his raven hair.
* * * * *
Later, after Van had left and Hitomi was dozing off, she heard another faint noise, this time, from outside. She moved over to the balcony and peered down into the courtyard. There, before and below her balcony under the half shade of a tree, was the man from her dream: the rider Celena had told Hitomi she'd met the night before. He looked up at Hitomi with his piercing eyes that held her in place like a statue. In her mind, she heard it speak.
'Hitomi Kanzaki, I presume,' he said.
"Y-yes," Hitomi replied uncomfortably.
'I have been waiting to meet you for a very long time,' he nodded to her. 'You know who I am, don't you?'
"Yes, I do! I'll have you know, if you ask, I'll never come with you," Hitomi shouted.
'Who said anything about asking?'
suddenly, the man ripped off his hood, uncloaking his eyes fully. They began to glow with an aura that pierced her mind like a knife. She still couldn't move! She felt her consciousness give into his will.
'You know those people you call friends? Those aren't your friends! They don't care about you! Remember?'
A scene returned to Hitomi. Van was sweeping down to catch her from the pit when she first saw his wings. He moved toward her, then, he passed her and swept up Merle and let her fall.
'Remember, I saved you from death. Come now, you owe me something, do you not?' he smiled maliciously (just like Dilandau, only worse).
Hitomi's eyes went blank as the black cloaked man hypnotized her.
"Yes... I do. What would you have in mind, Master?" Hitomi replied wickedly, her eyes were no longer the calm, gentle emerald green they once were. They now shone a cold, rusty- like green. Her outfit changed to a green, swirling dress; her hair turned a bit more frosty; and her face was as if she were the devil herself. She floated into the air and down to the mounted man. She landed and laughed a dark laugh as he recited her new name to her.
'I'm so glad you figured out who your real friends are, Ice Princess.'
At that, the two disappeared into thin air, leaving the courtyard untouched.
* * * * *
"Hurry! We've got to find her!" yelled a voice from outside.
"Hmmmm...," Celena said, sitting up from her bed groggily.
She recognized the voice was Van's. She moved softly to her wardrobe and got dressed quickly. In a moment, she was outside, her blonde hair that, a year ago was only a few centimetres below her neck, was now shoulder length and swirled around her face like a spider trying to catch its prey. She came over to her brother, Van, Dryden, and Damen: that advisor of Van's who was more stuck-up than Dilandau had been.
Celena silently giggled at that thought. "What's all the yelling about?"
Dryden cleared his throat and said, "Hitomi's missing, and nobody saw her but Van, and—!"
Van broke in with a rude, "—and that was only last night!"
"There's got to be an explanation for this. We'll find it. Don't worry, Van. We'll find her, no matter what it takes," Celena soothed, putting a reassuring hand on Van's shaking shoulder.
Van cussed through his teeth and said, "If I ever catch the guy who took her I'll—!"
Celena interjected, "—you shall do nothing!" She wagged her finger at Van apprehensively. "She might have just gone for a walk and gotten lost or something like that. Anyway, don't say things you don't mean or it will cause you more trouble than the words are worth."
Damen turned to Van and said, "Your Highness, Escaflowne's preparations are complete. It is ready for you."
"Excellent! Tell the crew of the Crusade to have it ready for departure in a few minutes," Van replied.
"Is it really necessary for you to use Escaflowne again. After all, it's supposed to be a war machine and it would alarm the residence of Palas if you activated it in the middle of the castle Gymelulf hanger," Celena said calmly.
"She's right," Millerna said, coming up beside Dryden. "Seeing Escaflowne again would cause a panic. The people of Astoria would think we're at war again. If you were to use Escaflowne, you would have to launch far enough away from Palas so the citizens could not see it."
For the first time, Allen spoke. "Or, we could launch the Crusade and say it was on a trade mission and launch Escaflowne from far above the city and keep it high enough so the people wouldn't see it."
"I agree," Celena said softly, displeased, but pacified.
* * * * *
Hitomi stood in the centre of a gigantic crystal room. Her gaze swept along from floor to ceiling. Suddenly, the black man, her master, appeared behind her. She turned and bowed to him deeply.
'The time is nearly here, Ice Princess. We must open the gates that separate Earth from Gaea,' he said.
"Yes," Hitomi replied. "Master, am I wrong that we must get the other pendant first?"
'You are correct, as usual. In order to open the gates we must have both keys.'
Hitomi turned and glared down at the scenery of Astoria far below. Clouds wavered every so often, blocking her view. In the near sky, she saw the Crusade hovering just a hundred metre's away with Escaflowne almost ready to be airborne.
'Now is our time to strike. You know what you must do,' he smiled, looking at her.
"I understand," Hitomi replied coldly.
* * * * *
Van stood in the gymelulf hanger bay. He stared out at the clear blue sky and wondered where Hitomi could possibly be. Allen then walked up to him. Joining him were Millerna, Dryden, Merle, and Celena. They all looked at him in concern.
"Are you all right, Van?" Allen asked.
"He will be, if he gives me what I want!" said a voice out of nowhere.
Millerna gasped. "What?" She looked around. There was no one there but the company.
Just in front of them a white cylinder of light appeared. Out of which appeared a lady clothed in white. Her hair was frosty brown, her eyes cold green, and her smile was full of evil. She laughed wickedly as she watched them.
"Who are you?" Van asked.
"You know," the woman replied.
Celena gasped in shock. "Van! T-that voice! Van, it's Hitomi!"
"What!?" Van gasped.
"That was my name... once," the woman chuckled.
"Hitomi...?" Van said in disbelief. "W-why? What are we going to do?"
"There's nothing you can do, save hope that I don't notice you!"
Van fumbled for more meaningful words, but the same, most meaningful one (to him), came out instead. "Hitomi...?"
"Stop calling me that! My name is Ice Princess!" she replied sharply.
They all looked up at her with pleading hearts and watering eyes. She turned away in disgust.
"I want that pendant NOW!" Hitomi screamed. She reached out her hand and grabbed at the pendant Van wore around his neck.
"N-no! It's mine!" Van screamed. "You gave it to me, remember!?"
"I... gave it... to you?" Hitomi put her hands against her head and cried out in pain. She felt like she was melting. She heard a voice calling her. It echoed through her mind. It was the voice of her master.
Hitomi floated back into the air. She glanced at the pendant she had failed to capture dangling round Van's neck. "Next time we meet... I will get that pendant!"
Hitomi flew into the air and disappeared as mysteriously as she had come.
"Hitomi...?" Van said, looking up at te sky again. Everything was quiet.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Episode #4
The Deception
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The pale moons shown brightly on the walls of Astoria's palace. On the balcony of her room, stood a silent and watchful Hitomi. Her eyes were intent and matched that strange aura of the moons themselves. Her presence on the balcony was from a dream she had just had not a half hour earlier...
~*~*~*~*~*~
There were two huge gates, coloured a crimson red and covered in the gore of what used to be human bodies. There, at those gates, Hitomi stood alone, oblivious to all around her save the gates. She called out strange words that she did not know, but, for some reason, could pronounce:
"Dominus de jensu vengei tabu alinous elevais forvre drak lirod."
At that, the gates opened, revealing a dark boy— roughly her age. He was dressed from head to toe in death black robes covered by a black cloak. He rode a huge, death black horse. The boy came forward. With one swift motion, he snatched her up, and carried her into a forest, where the trees were bleeding crimson...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hitomi shook her head: it was just a dream. That's all it was... wasn't it? Interrupting her thoughts was the sound of a knock on her door. Without turning, she gave a quick "Hie!" and turned back to stare at the stars.
She heard faint footsteps approaching, then a soft, warm hand on her shoulder. She looked to her side. Van was standing beside her, staring up at the stars as well. He had one un-gloved hand on her shoulder and the other at his side.
"Van," Hitomi said, reluctant to tell him her dream if he should ask why she was awake.
"Hitomi," Van replied softly.
Hitomi could see the worry in his eyes, he child-like fright just behind his burning irises. It startled her. She had never seen him this worried ever since The Destiny Wars.
"What's the matter, Van?" she asked.
"It's—! ...nothing," Van said.
"Van, what are you hiding?" Hitomi asked again.
"I'm just afraid that this Dark Prince will get you. What will he do to you if he does?"
"I don't know," Hitomi replied, gently stroking his raven hair.
* * * * *
Later, after Van had left and Hitomi was dozing off, she heard another faint noise, this time, from outside. She moved over to the balcony and peered down into the courtyard. There, before and below her balcony under the half shade of a tree, was the man from her dream: the rider Celena had told Hitomi she'd met the night before. He looked up at Hitomi with his piercing eyes that held her in place like a statue. In her mind, she heard it speak.
'Hitomi Kanzaki, I presume,' he said.
"Y-yes," Hitomi replied uncomfortably.
'I have been waiting to meet you for a very long time,' he nodded to her. 'You know who I am, don't you?'
"Yes, I do! I'll have you know, if you ask, I'll never come with you," Hitomi shouted.
'Who said anything about asking?'
suddenly, the man ripped off his hood, uncloaking his eyes fully. They began to glow with an aura that pierced her mind like a knife. She still couldn't move! She felt her consciousness give into his will.
'You know those people you call friends? Those aren't your friends! They don't care about you! Remember?'
A scene returned to Hitomi. Van was sweeping down to catch her from the pit when she first saw his wings. He moved toward her, then, he passed her and swept up Merle and let her fall.
'Remember, I saved you from death. Come now, you owe me something, do you not?' he smiled maliciously (just like Dilandau, only worse).
Hitomi's eyes went blank as the black cloaked man hypnotized her.
"Yes... I do. What would you have in mind, Master?" Hitomi replied wickedly, her eyes were no longer the calm, gentle emerald green they once were. They now shone a cold, rusty- like green. Her outfit changed to a green, swirling dress; her hair turned a bit more frosty; and her face was as if she were the devil herself. She floated into the air and down to the mounted man. She landed and laughed a dark laugh as he recited her new name to her.
'I'm so glad you figured out who your real friends are, Ice Princess.'
At that, the two disappeared into thin air, leaving the courtyard untouched.
* * * * *
"Hurry! We've got to find her!" yelled a voice from outside.
"Hmmmm...," Celena said, sitting up from her bed groggily.
She recognized the voice was Van's. She moved softly to her wardrobe and got dressed quickly. In a moment, she was outside, her blonde hair that, a year ago was only a few centimetres below her neck, was now shoulder length and swirled around her face like a spider trying to catch its prey. She came over to her brother, Van, Dryden, and Damen: that advisor of Van's who was more stuck-up than Dilandau had been.
Celena silently giggled at that thought. "What's all the yelling about?"
Dryden cleared his throat and said, "Hitomi's missing, and nobody saw her but Van, and—!"
Van broke in with a rude, "—and that was only last night!"
"There's got to be an explanation for this. We'll find it. Don't worry, Van. We'll find her, no matter what it takes," Celena soothed, putting a reassuring hand on Van's shaking shoulder.
Van cussed through his teeth and said, "If I ever catch the guy who took her I'll—!"
Celena interjected, "—you shall do nothing!" She wagged her finger at Van apprehensively. "She might have just gone for a walk and gotten lost or something like that. Anyway, don't say things you don't mean or it will cause you more trouble than the words are worth."
Damen turned to Van and said, "Your Highness, Escaflowne's preparations are complete. It is ready for you."
"Excellent! Tell the crew of the Crusade to have it ready for departure in a few minutes," Van replied.
"Is it really necessary for you to use Escaflowne again. After all, it's supposed to be a war machine and it would alarm the residence of Palas if you activated it in the middle of the castle Gymelulf hanger," Celena said calmly.
"She's right," Millerna said, coming up beside Dryden. "Seeing Escaflowne again would cause a panic. The people of Astoria would think we're at war again. If you were to use Escaflowne, you would have to launch far enough away from Palas so the citizens could not see it."
For the first time, Allen spoke. "Or, we could launch the Crusade and say it was on a trade mission and launch Escaflowne from far above the city and keep it high enough so the people wouldn't see it."
"I agree," Celena said softly, displeased, but pacified.
* * * * *
Hitomi stood in the centre of a gigantic crystal room. Her gaze swept along from floor to ceiling. Suddenly, the black man, her master, appeared behind her. She turned and bowed to him deeply.
'The time is nearly here, Ice Princess. We must open the gates that separate Earth from Gaea,' he said.
"Yes," Hitomi replied. "Master, am I wrong that we must get the other pendant first?"
'You are correct, as usual. In order to open the gates we must have both keys.'
Hitomi turned and glared down at the scenery of Astoria far below. Clouds wavered every so often, blocking her view. In the near sky, she saw the Crusade hovering just a hundred metre's away with Escaflowne almost ready to be airborne.
'Now is our time to strike. You know what you must do,' he smiled, looking at her.
"I understand," Hitomi replied coldly.
* * * * *
Van stood in the gymelulf hanger bay. He stared out at the clear blue sky and wondered where Hitomi could possibly be. Allen then walked up to him. Joining him were Millerna, Dryden, Merle, and Celena. They all looked at him in concern.
"Are you all right, Van?" Allen asked.
"He will be, if he gives me what I want!" said a voice out of nowhere.
Millerna gasped. "What?" She looked around. There was no one there but the company.
Just in front of them a white cylinder of light appeared. Out of which appeared a lady clothed in white. Her hair was frosty brown, her eyes cold green, and her smile was full of evil. She laughed wickedly as she watched them.
"Who are you?" Van asked.
"You know," the woman replied.
Celena gasped in shock. "Van! T-that voice! Van, it's Hitomi!"
"What!?" Van gasped.
"That was my name... once," the woman chuckled.
"Hitomi...?" Van said in disbelief. "W-why? What are we going to do?"
"There's nothing you can do, save hope that I don't notice you!"
Van fumbled for more meaningful words, but the same, most meaningful one (to him), came out instead. "Hitomi...?"
"Stop calling me that! My name is Ice Princess!" she replied sharply.
They all looked up at her with pleading hearts and watering eyes. She turned away in disgust.
"I want that pendant NOW!" Hitomi screamed. She reached out her hand and grabbed at the pendant Van wore around his neck.
"N-no! It's mine!" Van screamed. "You gave it to me, remember!?"
"I... gave it... to you?" Hitomi put her hands against her head and cried out in pain. She felt like she was melting. She heard a voice calling her. It echoed through her mind. It was the voice of her master.
Hitomi floated back into the air. She glanced at the pendant she had failed to capture dangling round Van's neck. "Next time we meet... I will get that pendant!"
Hitomi flew into the air and disappeared as mysteriously as she had come.
"Hitomi...?" Van said, looking up at te sky again. Everything was quiet.
TO BE CONTINUED...