Sorry I haven't updated in a while... been busy with Christmas and band... practicing. And I got Roller Coaster Tycoon 2!!! It's awesome and I can't stop playing it! Well no more excuses! Here is another chapter!

Disclaimer: Escaflowne... don't own.

Chapter 3: New Life

Jumping back into the guymelef, Dilandau turned to the east and headed towards the levi-ships with Hitomi still in his grasp.

After a long silence during the ride in the clutches of a maniac, the sight of smaller levi-ships came into view. They were floating a little above the ground with platforms extending onto the ground.

Dilandau never changed his guymelefs pace and soon Hitomi could hear the distant sound of hooves beating the ground. The other men had caught up and were making their way to the ships.

Hitomi could start to feel her legs going numb. Being held in the cold metal claw so tightly made the blood's circulation to her legs slow down. It wasn't long before everyone separated to different ships and filled in. Dilandau was the only person who had a guymelef to load on and took quite some time to squeeze in. Hitomi had to duck her head a few times for chance of hitting it on the top of the ship.

Setting his guymelef against a wall, Dilandau had to do one more thing before jumping out.

Feeling the tightness in her chest release, Hitomi realized what was happening. Before she had time to react, the ground came racing towards her. She landed hardly on her feet, and her knees gave way. On instinct, she loosened her body so she would not break any bones from further impact.

She lied on the floor and felt her legs starting to get the feel back, but it wasn't the feeling she wanted to undergo. Pain crawled up her legs and her spine. Hitomi had taken all the force on her legs and now she was regretting she hadn't paid more attention to what Dilandau was doing.

Hitomi heard voices around her and felt footsteps coming closer to her. Her vision blurred, and went from total blackness to flashes of light and color. Trying to lift herself off the ground, she felt as if all her strength had been drained. She pushed her arms against the ground, but she didn't hold herself up for long. Her arms gave way and her head hit the cold steel floor. Hitomi's mind went blank and fell into unconsciousness.

~Back in Austuria~ The Crusade was just arriving back to the palace after the long, strenuous battle. Van was talking to Dryden about increasing defenses because you never knew when Zaibach was going to attack next. Dryden agreed with this and everyone started to walk back to the comfort of their rooms for a well- deserved sleep.

Before Van went to his own room, he wanted to check on Hitomi. He needed to apologize for being so rude to her before they left. Things just weren't working out for him lately.

The long hallways were silent, and an occasional servant would walk by giving a slight nod to Van before going to their own living quarters to turn in for the night. He arrived at the door he remembered to be Hitomi's room and stared at it. He was putting together what he was going to say to her. All the other times he had tried to tell her something, it had always come out wrong. He didn't want to upset her more.

Figuring out the right words for his apology, he raised his knuckles to the door and knocked a few times. There was no answer and Van rapped on the hard wood a little louder. Still no answer.

'Maybe she's sleeping...' thought Van.

Pressing his ear up against the door, he listened for any sound that might indicate she was sleeping or was at least in her room. The only sound was of the gentle breeze blowing into the room.

Van gripped the steel door handle in one hand and turned it. Giving a soft click, the door creaked open a little. He stuck his head in the opening and peered inside the dark room.

He quietly whispered "Hitomi? Can I come in?"

Walking fully into the room, Van looked around Hitomi's room which was dimly light by the Mystic Moon's glow. Already he could tell something was wrong. The door leading to her balcony was wide open and her bed looked as if it had never been slept on. The covers were all flat and neatly tucked in.

Van looked around the room frantically and then ran out to the balcony. Images of her dead form sprawled across the ground filled his head. He grabbed the railing and threw his head over. Looking frantically from side to side, he didn't see any object on the moonlit grass. Van's heart calmed down a little, but he was still troubled to where Hitomi was. It was late at night so she shouldn't be wandering around the palace alone.

Merle hadn't said anything to him about Hitomi since he came back. He would ask around to see if anyone had seen Hitomi. Turning back to the door that led to the balcony, Van stared at his reflection in the glass of the windows that covered the one wall.

AN: (You know in the series, Hitomi's room has the wall facing outside made totally of windows? That's what I'm talking about. If I'm wrong tell me! That is what I recall in the series.)

The Mystic Moon was above him dominantly shinning in the sky. He looked himself over in the reflection and saw an object near his feet glinting in the moonlight. Getting down on his knees, he found the object, and instantly recognized it as Hitomi's pendant.

His heart lurched and he could feel his hands go cold.

'Why is Hitomi's pendant here? Did she leave? Was she kidnapped?' These questions and more raced through his head as he tried to think of what might have happened to her.

Jumping to his feet, Van raced out of Hitomi's room. As he ran through the halls, he kept asking every maid and soldier he encountered if they had seen Hitomi. Of course no one really knew who she was, but Van explained what she looked like with ease. He knew her every detail my memory.

Still racing through the halls, Van turned a corner quickly, but as soon as he had turned, he collided into someone. He started to apologize and looked up to see whom he hit. Allen stood there with his hand extended out to Van. Helping him to his feet, Allen could see it in Van's eyes that something was wrong.

Before Allen could even ask why Van was in such a rush, Van blurted "I can't find Hitomi!"

Allen just stared at Van in disbelief, but regained his senses as Van started to run off again.

'Maybe Dryden knows something of Hitomi's disappearance.' Van thought to himself.

Van raced to the room he knew he would find Dryden. He was probably behind a stack of books now in the library. Reaching the room, Van didn't even bother to knock, and just burst into the room. He was panting hard and found Dryden at his desk, a book open in front of him and a single candle to his right.

Dryden was surprised by this sudden interruption, and stared at Van wondering why he didn't knock. Van looked like he had seen a ghost. Pale and shaking, he strode over to Dryden.

"Where is Hitomi?" Van shakily asked while still catching his breath.

Equally confused, Dryden replied "I have no clue what you're talking about. She was in the castle before you left. She was here the whole time. Someone would have seen her leave."

"I already asked everyone I came across in the castle. No one has seen her all day."

"Maybe she went to the market for the day to take her mind off things." Dryden responded, trying to sound somewhat hopeful.

"Then why would this be on her balcony?" With that said, Van threw the object that was clenched in his gloved fist onto Dryden's desk. "That is Hitomi's pendant. It is very precious to her, and she would never leave it behind or loose it."

Dryden looked intently at the pendant and then directed his attention to Van. He was about to say something when a knock came to the door. The person on the other side didn't even wait for an answer to allow them to come in. A soldier came in and looked from Van to Dryden.

"Dryden-sama, I'm sorry for the interruption, but there is a matter you need to attend to." The soldier stated it simply and sounded as if in a rush.

"What is the matter about?" asked Dryden.

"Many people in the city wish to know if there are demons in the castle."

"Demons? Why the HELL would there be DEMONS in the castle!!??" a now furious Dryden retorted.

The soldier now looked frightened but spit out the remaining words in his mouth. "Many townsfolk said they saw a blinding blue light coming from the castle. They say it shot down from the sky right above us. Many are afraid it is the work of demons, evil spirits, or some sort of dark magic."

This caught Van's attention right away, and as soon as the soldier was done talking, Van could be heard whispering something to himself.

"She went home... she went back to her own world... the Mystic Moon..."

But Van didn't know how wrong he was.



Sorry there weren't more parts with Dilandau and Hitomi here... but I promise in the next chapter its mainly going to focus on them! Please R&R! Any questions or comments are welcome!