IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!! YEAH!!!! I'M FINALLY 16!!!! (That means I expect a lot of reviews!!!)

Wow... thank you all who read and reviewed!!!!! It really keeps me going... well finals are now over... and it's the start of a new semester. Hooray! But then again... I'm in a musical at school and practices will be longer every day... but I will still find time to write! Hey there is always staying up really late on weekends... well without further ado! I present to you, Chapter 5... where Dilandau and Hitomi will finally meet! Promise!

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or anything affiliated with it.

She smiled to herself and decided to just live. If she dwelled on the past too much and felt horrible every day of being in the Vione, she would go into a depression and might try to kill herself. If there was a way out, she would find it... even if it took years...

Chapter 5: Not What I Thought

Beaming brightly and slowly rising, the sun's rays crept slowly into Hitomi's room. The light reached her eyes and Hitomi squinted her eyes. She flipped over and opened her eyes fully to look at her surroundings. It was all the same as what they were last night.

"I guess it really wasn't a dream." Hitomi quietly told herself.

Hitomi looked around once more and pulled back the curtain around her bed, securing the ends to the posts. She kicked her feet off the bed and onto the cold floor, which hit her feet like ice water. Hitomi had no clue what she would do now. She could go anywhere in the Vione, but was unsure of how people would react to her. Would they look at her with hate, fear, or hostility? Or would they welcome her as one of their own?

One thing was for sure. She didn't look too appealing. Her hair was sticking out everywhere and looked considerably dirty. Her school uniform was torn in a few spots and ripped along the hem of her sleeve. Scratched and bruises ran along her arms and legs almost hidden by dirt and mud. She was significantly sore also. Around her waist was slightly bruised and sore from being held by the crima-claw for so long and her back ached from being on the dungeons hard floor.

The pain grew as she started to stand, but as Hitomi's muscles warmed up, the pain receded. In the corner of her eye, Hitomi could see something sitting on her couch and walked over to it. New clothing, all folded and stacked neatly, sat in two piles for her.

She sat down next to the piles and started to look at each item separately. She received three sleeveless shirts, two short-sleeved shirts, four long sleeved shirts, four pairs of pants, which were all black, and a long black sleek dress with a slit going down the right side and almost ending below her hip. The sleeves would hang off her shoulders and the neckline was slightly curved to be just a little lower than her collarbone. She also found some undergarments at the bottom of the pile. Everything was simple and each a different dark color.

'Well at least nothing is pink.' she mentally joked.

Hitomi stood up and looked around her room once more. To the right of her bed stood a door that she hadn't taken notice of before. She walked over to it and slowly turned the handle. Inside was a bathroom. At her far left, a pool of steaming water lay at ground level. Some shelves hung on the walls, which held all different types of bathing necessities. To the far right was a long counter with a sink and in the corner was a toilet.

'Wow... they have more modern technology here than I thought. Running water, and I hope that toilet has a plumbing system.' said Hitomi.

Hitomi walked over to the water, knelt down, and grazed her hand over the surface. The water was warm and very inviting. She undressed and folded all of her clothing into a stack, placing it near the door. She would never get rid of her clothing from home, and decided on putting it in a safe place in her room so no one could find them and throw them out.

She sat down at the waters edge and plunged her feet into the steamy water. A rush of heat raced up her legs and tingled her feet. Hitomi started to sink down a little more into the water when her feet hit a solid surface.

'It can't be that shallow can it?' she questioned herself.

Searching around with her feet, Hitomi felt the hard surface end after she moved her feet a few feet from the edge. She jumped the rest of the way in and felt her body relax. Letting the heat wash over her, she sat on the bench that ran along the edge of the bathing pool and rested her head back. It reminded her of a hot tub back on Earth.

The water felt like it was dissolving all of her pains and fears away. Hitomi rubbed all the dirt off and washed her hair with what she thought to be shampoo. She ducked her head into the water to rinse her hair and reluctantly got out of her warm bathing pool. She dried herself off with one of the towels that sat on the shelves and wrapped it around her body. She picked up her old clothing and walked into her main bedroom.

Hitomi picked a dark blue, short sleeve shirt that had a slight V-neck to it. One pair of pants was also selected. Dressing in her newly made clothing, Hitomi was surprised at how well everything fit her and looked herself over. From the corner of her eye, she saw a glint of black at the end of her bed. There, almost hidden by her enormous bed, stood a pair of boots.

They were made of black leather and glinted in the sunlight. She sat on the edge of her bed and brought one up to her eyes for closer inspection. There was a thick heel of about a half an inch and brightly polished silver buckles ran up one side of the boot. She put one shoe on and found it to be a little snug. She tucked her pants into the shoe and latched the two buckles that ran down the side. They were so high, they nearly reached Hitomi's knee.

Reaching over to the end of her bed, she grabbed the other boot and put it on. Hitomi got up, walked around, felt if her toes were hitting the end of the shoe, and felt if anything was rubbing. She felt just like a kid when trying on and buying new shoes.

Her hair was still wet, so Hitomi took her towel from where it lay and vigorously rubbed her hair. Once satisfied that her hair was as dry as she could get it, Hitomi looked into a mirror that stood next to her armoire. Standing in every which way was her hair.

Hoping to find something to brush her hair with, Hitomi headed back into the bathroom and searched the shelves for a brush. Soon enough, she caught site of a comb and took it. Hitomi walked over to the sink where a mirror hung directly in front of her. She ran the comb through her hair a few times until all the knots were out and all the hair was flat against her head.

Her reflection gazed straight back at her with a look of confusion and childish fear. She had to go out of her room someday or another... today might as well be the day. Hitomi, making her decision, wiped away the fear and set her look to one of determination. This time her reflection glared back into her emerald eyes.

The hall that extended down to Hitomi's room was quite empty and silent. Opening her door, Hitomi peered outside and fully stepped out, closing the heavy door behind her. The sounds her boots made were softened by the carpet that ran down the length of the corridor. Hitomi felt unsure of her surroundings and constantly looked around her... she didn't want to be surprised by anything.

After walking down the whole length of the hall, there was a staircase to her right leading the floor above and straight in front of her was another staircase that led to the level below.

'Now which way should I go?' she thought to herself. 'There might just be some living quarters upstairs...'

Hitomi was now getting frustrated with herself. 'Why is it so hard to pick which way!'

Pushing back all further thoughts she headed straight and started to go downstairs. Her feet hitting the stone stairs echoed softly down the circular staircase. It wasn't long before she found herself in another corridor. She started walking and found that many of the maids that strolled by her, gave her questioning and accusing glares.

'Do I really look that weird?' Hitomi asked herself.

Walking a bit further, she turned a corner and continued on her journey. A faint sound reached her ears, but she was unsure of exactly what it was. Then the sounds of battle reached her.

'What's going on? Is someone fighting? Did Van find me?!' So many thoughts raced through her head as she headed in the direction of the sound. Her feet pounded on the ground and her heart beat in excitement. Yes! The sound of swords clashing against one another could clearly be heard. She raced to the end of the hall and without a second thought burst through the door, which the sounds of battle could be heard.

Her hopes immediately dropped like a lead balloon as she took in the site before her. There was no battle... it was... soldiers... there were training with one another. Everyone had stopped what they were doing instantly once they saw her come bursting in.

Hitomi felt the nervousness build up inside rapidly. Everyone was now looking at her and a sense of familiarity started to come to her. She had seen their armor before... but from where? Who where these kids? They looked all to be about her age... but where had she seen them?

Battle... they were in battle... Van fought against them before.

'They're... they're... the Drag... Dragonslayers!' but she realized this too late.

Suddenly each of their faces lit up with recognition. "She's the one Dilandau-sama brought back from battle!" one of the soldiers yelled out to the rest.

"I thought she was in the dungeons! I wonder... did she escape?" another questioned to his comrades.

'This isn't good' Hitomi told her body to run for the door and escape, but as she turned around to face the door, she saw that a soldier stood right in front of it, blocking her escape. 'Damn it! Now what am I going to do?'

All the Dragonslayers were circling around her, eyeing her like prey. She couldn't be cornered... she had trick them somehow so the door would be clear. No one stood to her right, so she made a mad dash in that direction. She then noticed how big the room was. There were racks with weapons of all sorts all around the room and the center was entirely open for training.

Hitomi ran to one of the racks and picked up a pole just in time to block a blow coming right for her head. The sword cut almost half way through the pole and the force that the blond haired soldier put on it made it start to crack. She was being pushed back and the boy had the upper hand. His strength was overwhelming and Hitomi couldn't hold him off for much longer. Quickly she flung herself to the right and let go of the pole. This caught the young soldier off guard and he stumbled forward.

Frantically looking around, Hitomi took her chance at his surprise and started to sprint towards the door. Another slayer jumped in front of Hitomi to block her path, but with quick thinking, Hitomi flung herself to the floor and slid right in-between the boy's legs.

Pushing herself back up from the floor, she pushed herself to run her fastest. Her escape was right there in front of her and she could nearly feel triumph. Just as her hand reached out to push the door open, she felt someone grab her from behind and push her down.

The ground raced towards Hitomi as she landed hard with another heavy weight on her back. The person got off of Hitomi and roughly grabbed the back of her shirt. She struggled to get out of his grasp until two other slayers came, each grabbing one of her arms. They pulled her forcefully to her feet and started to drag her to the center of the training room.

The two Dragonslayers threw Hitomi to the floor and everyone else made a circle around her. She started to panic as one of them drew their sword and spoke to her. "Don't think we don't know who you are... Dilandau-sama refers to you as the 'Bitch from the Mystic Moon'. You're the one who gave him that scar. Am I right?"

Hitomi did not answer his question. She was too petrified to mutter anything. 'Is this the end? Am I truly going to die?'

He saw the look of terror on her face and smirked. "Now you will pay for what you have done!"

Everyone around her watched in anticipation as he raised his sword above his head, ready to deliver the final blow. She put her arms in front of her face on impulse and firmly shut her eyes. Without warning, a figure burst into the crowd, unsheathed their sword, and blocked the soldier's sword that was coming down onto Hitomi.

She didn't feel any pain, but only heard a loud clang of steel and a few of the boys gasp in surprise, but other than that, nothing. All was silent. Cautiously, Hitomi opened her eyes to find another boy, dressed in the same armor, standing right in front of her. His back was facing her, but she instantly knew who it was from his white hair.

Dilandau, with his sword drawn, had stopped the swing of the sword that would have taken her life. The other Dragonslayer stood there with a look of utmost shock and terror etched onto his features. Slowly he moved his sword from where it had hit Dilandau's and fell on one knee. His eyes fell to the floor as he awaited his punishment.

Dilandau sheathed his sword and glared at the rest of the Dragonslayers. He then turned and looked down at Hitomi. Kneeling down next to her, Dilandau looked her over. Once he was satisfied she wasn't hurt, he stood and held his hand out for her. She looked at his hand... then at him. She then took his hand and Dilandau helped her up.

Once Hitomi was steady, Dilandau turned back around to the Dragonslayer kneeling before him. With one swift motion, Dilandau slapped Miguel, who crumpled to the floor from the force.

Hitomi stared at Miguel then looked at Dilandau. She found he was also staring at her.

Dilandau then spoke, but directed his talk to his Dragonslayers, who were now all lined up in formation standing before him. "I just spoke with Folken-sama. He has informed me that Hitomi, whom you just tried to kill, is a guest here on the Vione. He threatened that if anyone hurts her, or kills her, they will have to deal with him."

He glared at each one of his slayers then looked back at Hitomi. She could tell that Dilandau wanted to kill her right there. A fire was burning in his eyes for revenge... but they were burning for a revenge he couldn't have.

"Follow me." Dilandau commanded Hitomi. She then headed out the door, walking directly behind the boy that wanted to kill her, but had saved her instead.