"Adrina, Adrina wake up!"

Adrina opened her eyes to see her little sister leaning over her. She smiled and sat up. "I'm awake. What's the plan for the day?"

"Princess Millerna's wedding is today!" Merle exclaimed.

The night before, they had arrived back in Palas without incident. They had landed outside the windmill where they had been captured. Hitomi had hurried back to the castle at Van's request, but he, Merle and Adrina had stayed up until dawn discussing the events of the past month. Adrina had finally fallen asleep next to Merle in the haystack when the first light of the sun had started to awaken the land.

Merle had told Adrina all about Princess Millerna Aston and her wedding to the rich merchant Dryden Fasso. Merle was excited about the wedding, Adrina could tell. The night before, Adrina was afraid that Van and Merle would be angry with her but after the long conversation, things were practically back to normal between the three of them.

"Come on, come on!" Merle rushed as Adrina straightened her dress and fixed her hair, "We've gotta find you a different dress for the wedding! You can't go to an Asturian royals wedding dressed like a Zaibach noble!"

Just as they were about to start down from the hayloft, Van's head appeared over the top of the ladder. "Are you two ready?"

"Yep!" Merle chirped. Van climbed down the ladder, followed by Adrina and Merle. When they reached the ground, they left the windmill and walked down the dusty road to the Asturian palace. They were met by Hitomi and Allen.

"Hitomi told me about last night," Allen informed.

Van regarded him with a cold stare. "Adrina needs a new dress. Do you think you could get someone to find her one?"

"Of course," Allen agreed. They followed him into the castle and waited while he talked to some servant girls. They hurried away and came back in a few minutes with a light blue dress. They led Adrina into a room where she could put the dress on. She changed quickly and rejoined Van and Merle. Hitomi and Allen had gone to get ready for the wedding..

"We'd better find somewhere to watch the wedding from," Van suggested. The three of them left the palace and settled themselves on a rooftop near where the wedding was to be held. They had been sitting for only a few minutes when Van stood up.

"Where are you going Lord Van?" Merle asked.

"To get Escaflowne," Van answered, "I don't need it, but I'd feel better if it was close by. You two stay here. I'll be back in a minute."

Van jumped down from the roof and disappeared into the gathering crowd. A few minutes later, Merle and Adrina saw Escaflowne approaching. The guymelef stopped behind the building they were perched on. The control chamber opened and Van joined them on the roof again.

Twenty minutes later the wedding began. Princess Millerna approached in a boat, as did Dryden. They met at the alter and walked up the stairs. They knelt in front of the priest ad he began to perform the ceremony. The wedding didn't last very long. Near the end, Escaflowne's energist began to glow.

"What?" Van asked.

"What's it doing?" Adrina questioned, her hand automatically going to her sword. She may have ditched the Zaibach clothes but she wasn't ready to part with her sword.

A pink stream of light shot out of Escaflowne's energist and out into the sky, revealing the Vione and the twins' guymelefs.

"Hey!" Van shouted, "that's my brother's..."

"The floating fortress!" Adrina gasped, "and the twins' guymelefs!"

"The twins?" Van inquired.

"Naria and Eriya," Adrina told him, "they're Folken's warriors."

"What are they doing here?" Merle questioned, fear in her voice.

"I doubt they're here to wish Millerna and Dryden good luck," Adrina quipped. The sky darkened as a solar eclipse took place and Van jumped down to Escaflowne.

"Van!" Adrina called but he didn't hear her. He climbed into the control chamber and ran to a clearing among the buildings. Escaflowne changed to the dragon and soared into the sky to meet the oncoming threats. On the ground, weapons and guymelefs were being equipped, but something seemed wrong. The huge crossbows' cords snapped and the guymelefs wouldn't activate.

Out of the sky, lightning began to crash down. It struck several different places, shattering the rock and hurling the pieces down at the onlookers. Merle and Adrina hugged each other and ducked as lightning struck a nearby tower.

"What's going on?" Adrina exclaimed. She looked up and saw Naria's guymelef descend in the middle of what had been the wedding ceremony. She couldn't see Eriya or Van.

"There's Lord Van!" Merle shouted and pointed into the sky. Escaflowne was plummeting to the ground out of control. It hit the cobblestone street next to Naria and bucked wildly as Eriya landed beside her sister. Escaflowne thrashed harder, then lay still.

"Lord Van!" Merle cried and started to jump off the roof.

"No Merle!" Adrina grabbed her sister and held her back.

"Attention people of Asturia!" A voice boomed from the sky.

Adrina looked up. "Folken."

"We are the Zaibach Intensified Luck Soldiers," Folken continued, "I repeat, attention people of Asturia! We are the Zaibach Intensified Luck Soldiers. Resistance is futile. Horrible fates await any of those who dare oppose us. We have demands. Hitomi Kanzaki, the girl from the Mystic Moon and the Zaibach traitor Adrina Celone. If you wish to avoid further misfortune, hand over the two women we have named."

Adrina let go of Merle and strode over to the edge of the roof. Merle scrambled after her.

"What are you doing?" Merle shrieked.

"I'm going," Adrina replied and jumped down from the roof.

"Adrina, you can't!" Merle screamed and followed after her.

From a pile of rubble, Hitomi emerged and ran towards the twins' guymelefs. She stopped and held out her arms.

"I'm the girl from the Mystic Moon!" she shouted, "And my name is Hitomi Kanzaki!" Adrina ran up beside her and drew her sword as Hitomi continued, "if you want me, here I am!"

"I trust I don't have to identify myself, do I girls?" Adrina smirked.

The twins brought their guymelefs closer. "Well well, if it isn't the little traitor," Naria hissed.

"Lord Folken can't wait to execute you for your betrayal," Eriya added.

"Let's get out of here," Naria suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Eriya shot metal claws out and wrapped them around Hitomi. Adrina swung her sword at the metal but was knocked aside by Naria. Her sword spun from her hand as she crashed to the ground and cracked her head. Lights began to dance in front of her eyes and she struggled to remain conscious. Through the haze, she heard Van call out to Hitomi and vice versa, then vaguely saw Van rushing to Hitomi.

"Adrina, are you okay?" Merle appeared at her side, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Merle," Adrina assured and struggled to sit up. She saw Van was back on the ground and Hitomi was still in Eriya's clutches. Naria took a step towards Adrina, who instinctively pushed Merle aside and crawled to her sword. She used the sword to push herself into a standing position and waited dizzily for Naria's attack.

Adrina squinted as the eclipse finally passed, bathing the destruction in sunlight. From the twins' guymelefs, groans and choking sounds were heard. Eriya's guymelef fell to it's knees and released Hitomi. She screamed as she fell but was caught by Allen before she hit the ground.

The twin's guymelefs took off into the sky, leaving behind the death and destruction of their intensified luck. Adrina swayed unsteadily as she watched the twins escape. As they sped away, Naria's guymelef began to fall. Adrina watched as the guymelef began to smoke, then exploded. Adrina closed her eyes and turned away, saying a silent prayer for the fallen soldier.

After the danger had passed, the task of tending to the wounded and cleaning up the city started. Merle insisted that Adrina rest after the blow to her head, but after ten minutes she felt fine and began to help the wounded. The injured had been brought to the courtyard of the palace and a makeshift hospital had been set up. Doctors were in short supply and Adrina's moderate healing skills were in demand.

Adrina helped the doctors until dusk. The patients were made as comfortable as possible and Adrina was allowed to leave. She made her way back to the windmill where Van and Merle had a fire going. Adrina took her sword off and flopped down next to the warm blaze.

"It's about time you made it back," Merle scolded, "you shouldn't have worked so long after hitting your head earlier."

"Oh Merle," Adrina smiled, "I'm fine, really and the doctors needed my help."

"She's right, Adrina," Van aided, "you should get some rest."

"You're right," Adrina yawned and grabbed her sword. She walked over to the loft ladder.

"Do you want something to eat first?" Merle held out a plate with food on it, "You should eat to keep up your strength."

"I'll eat in the morning," Adrina promised, "I just want to get to sleep."

"Good night!" Van and Merle called as Adrina curled up in the warm hay. She covered up with her cloak and was asleep in minutes.

The next day, Merle woke Adrina up early. After a quick breakfast, the two of them went to the hospital to help the doctors. Hitomi was there too and the three of them chatted lightly as they ran errands and changed bandages. During the meals, the three of them ran back and forth between the kitchen and the hospital, serving the injured and their families.

As it got dark, the three of them finished up their duties and started to leave. Merle was practically asleep on her feet when a woman stopped them and asked if they could take the dishes back to the kitchen. Hitomi and Adrina agreed and gathered up the dishes after sending Merle to bed. They were both loaded with dishes as they entered the castle.

"Adrina?" Hitomi spoke, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Adrina answered.

"Do you regret helping us escape?"

Adrina stopped walking and looked over at Hitomi. "What makes you think I'd regret it?"

"A lot of things." Hitomi avoided Adrina's gaze.

"Such as?"

"Well," Hitomi started, "Van told me that you and Folken were really close."

"That's true," Adrina admitted.

"And when the Intensified Luck Soldiers came for us, I saw the sadness in your eyes when Folken called you a traitor," Hitomi added. Adrina said nothing, so Hitomi continued. "You're in love with Folken, aren't you?"

The girls' eyes met and Adrina nodded. "Yes, I love him," she confessed, "but that doesn't mean I would do it differently if I had the chance. I would never pick my happiness over your, Van and Merle's freedom." She turned away from Hitomi. "Let's get these dishes to the kitchen before we starve to death. I don't know about you, but some of the leftovers on these dishes are starting to look good." Both girls laughed and continued on towards the kitchen.

"When I first came to Gaea," Hitomi began as they walked, "You told me that Merle is your sister. I don't want to be rude, but how is that possible?"

"Merle's not really my sister," Adrina explained, "My parents were both human. They found her when she was a kitten. Her parents had abandoned her in the Fanelian Forest. My mother found her one day and raised her as her own."

"I think it takes more than blood to be family," Hitomi commented.

"Me too," Adrina agreed.

They came to the stairs that led to the kitchen and started up. Suddenly, Hitomi cried out and stumbled, dropping her load of dishes. Adrina stopped and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" Adrina asked.

"Yeah," Hitomi grumbled, "but my shoelace broke!" She picked up the sneaker. Adrina looked down at the shoe in Hitomi's hand. A sudden noise in the passageway they had just come from drew both of their attention. Before they could react, they were attacked. Adrina dropped her dishes as her hand went to her sword, but it wasn't there. She remembered that she had left it in the hayloft. She saw that their attacker had grabbed Hitomi and held her claws to her throat.

"Naria!" Adrina exclaimed, "You're alive!"

"Quiet," Naria hissed, "If you try anything, I'll kill her." Naria tightened her hold on Hitomi's throat.

"Why are you here?" Adrina asked.

"I'm taking the two of you back to Lord Folken," Naria told her, then groaned in pain, "You'll come peacefully or you'll be sorry."

Adrina knew that Naria wasn't kidding and without her sword, she couldn't defend herself. Rather than risk their lives, she agreed. "All right Naria, we'll come with you."

"Good." Naria pushed Hitomi forward. "Walk!" The three of them walked quietly to a nearby window. Adrina climbed out, followed by Hitomi and Naria. They were now standing on the wall surrounding the castle. Naria dragged the two over to the edge of the wall. Adrina looked down, wondering where the guards were.

"Go," Naria ordered and shoved Adrina. She caught herself on the edge of the wall before she fell off. She turned around and glared at Naria.

"Go where?" Adrina demanded.

"Down," Naria clarified.

"Oh, I get it," Adrina said, "You want me to kill myself."

Naria growled and wrapped an arm around each girls' waist, then jumped from the wall. The girls screamed as they fell towards the rocky ground. They were surprised when Naria landed gracefully and let go of them.

"Let's go," Naria nudged them forward, "we've got a boat to catch." The girls walked quickly as Naria urged them towards the waterfront. When they reached the marina, Naria ordered them onto a small, covered boat. They climbed on without resistance and sat down. Naria went through a small curtain towards the front of the boat. A low whisper was heard, then the boat began moving and Naria returned. She sat in front of the two girls and brandished her claws threateningly.

"The two of you will keep quiet or you'll be sorry," Naria threatened.

Hitomi looked frightened and nodded, but Adrina was curious.

"Why does Emperor Dornkirk want Hitomi?" she asked.

"Quiet traitor!" Naria spat, "that's none of your business! As soon as we get you back to the floating fortress, it won't matter to you anyway. Nothing will."

"Ah right," Adrina nodded, "my execution. Why don't you just kill me now? It'd save you the trouble of hauling me around."

"You have no idea how much I'd like to," Naria smiled sinisterly, "When Eriya and I found out you were Adrina from Fanelia, we were afraid that you would be competition for Lord Folken's heart. He told us all about you when we were younger. Of course, now that you've betrayed him, you're no longer a threat to us. Lord Folken can't wait to kill you with his bare hands."

Adrina's eyes clouded over and she turned away from the cat. The boat began to rock back and forth, causing the women to hold on or be thrown off the boat. Hitomi started to fall towards the edge of the boat, but Naria grabbed her quickly. Hitomi held onto Naria's arm and her eyes lost focus. Adrina remembered when Zaibach had attacked Allen's fortress. Hitomi had fallen into a sort of trance and saw the attack coming. She had the same look in her eyes now.

"So that's..." Hitomi's eyes focused again.

"Huh?" Naria grunted.

"So that's what happened," Hitomi finished.

Naria let go of Hitomi and pushed her back into the seat as the boat steadied. The boat continued on for about an hour, then docked. They were ushered out of the boat and into a waiting wagon. Adrina and Hitomi sat in the back of the wagon and Naria took the driver's seat. She whipped the horse and they shot off down a dark, tree-lined road. Adrina had had many chances to escape, but she didn't want to endanger Hitomi. Maybe if she really believed that Folken would let her be killed, she would've been more desperate to escape.

As they sped down the road, Hitomi began to talk to Naria. "Why are you doing this? For Van's brother Folken? To repay him for saving you?"

Naria gasped and looked back at Hitomi. Adrina had never heard how or why Naria and Eriya came to be loyal to Folken. She assumed that when Hitomi had touched Naria, she had seen it.

"Don't you understand," Hitomi continued, "it doesn't make any sense! It's wrong!" Hitomi turned her eyes back to the road. "Look out! Watch where you're...We're going to crash!"

Adrina spun around just in time to see the wagon plow into a large rock in the road. The wagon stopped immediately but the passengers did not. The women flew out of the wagon and rolled across the ground.

Adrina stopped rolling and groaned. Her right shoulder ached where she had hit the ground and she felt a stinging in both of her palms. She sat up and looked down at them. They were both skinned and raw. She quickly picked out the rocks and got to her feet.

"Don't even think of escaping!" Naria groaned. She was lying about ten feet away from Adrina and was struggling to her feet. Hitomi was sitting in front of Naria. "I'm taking you two back to Lord Folken!"

Hitomi stood up and backed away. She looked like she was about to bolt. If she did, Adrina would make sure Naria didn't follow. Naria reached for Hitomi and Adrina could see blood running down her left hand. She collapsed again and Hitomi hesitated, then walked up to Naria and wrapped her wrist with a pale pink cloth.

"Is that better?" Hitomi asked, "Why don't you come home with me? You shouldn't try to move in the shape your in."

Adrina was surprised by Hitomi's kindness, but not surprised by Naria's indifference as she stood up and faced her.

"Please!" Hitomi begged, "don't worry! It's okay! I can talk to Allen and the others you know. They're really nice. They'll know that you're not bad."

Naria chuckled and turned back to Hitomi. "Are you asking me to surrender little girl? I suppose you want me to believe what your saying. The only person I trust is Lord Folken."

She grabbed Hitomi and turned back towards Adrina.

"So now we walk?" Adrina inquired.

"Shut up and go," Naria hissed and they started down the road.

They reached their destination, the harbor, just before dawn. They boarded another boat and sat quietly while Naria tried to start the engine. She worked on it until after the sun was up and Adrina could tell she was getting frustrated. They had already seen a few guards from the palace snooping around and they assumed they were looking for them.

"Don't go back to Folken!" Hitomi pleaded, "Please! Use this ship to go somewhere far away! Changing your body with some kind of machine and being hurt by it...even if it's for someone that you love, it's not right."

Naria stopped fiddling with the engine. "Shut up."

"It's wrong!" Hitomi insisted, "It's so very wrong!"

Naria swung her hand at Hitomi, but Adrina caught her wrist before she connected.

"She right Naria," Adrina agreed, "Folken shouldn't have altered your bodies, especially when he knew there was a chance that something could go wrong."

"Lord Folken would never hurt us on purpose!" Naria raged.

"I know that," Adrian said, "but he's being influenced by Dornkirk."

"Just shut up," Naria pulled away from Adrina.

Suddenly the boat began to pitch and roll. Hitomi held on tightly and Adrina looked up to see Eriya's guymelef hovering over the water.

"Hello sister," Eriya called.

"Eriya!" Naria exclaimed. She turned to Hitomi and Adrina. "Serving under Lord Folken is all that I need to make me happy."

An explosion in the sky drew all of their attention. The floating fortress suddenly appeared with smoke billowing out of it. Through the smoke, Escaflowne could be seen hacking at the control room.

"Oh no!" Adrina cried, "Folken!"

"Folken, no," Naria breathed.

"Oh Van," Hitomi anguished.

"Come on sister," Eriya called, "hurry!" Her guymelef laid it's hand within jumping distance of the boat. Suddenly, they both began to groan and Naria appeared as if she had aged thirty years.

"Sister!" Eriya urged.

Naria turned to Hitomi. "You'd only get in the way if we took you with us. As for you..." Naria grabbed Adrina and pushed her onto the guymelef's hand. "You won't miss your execution. Hurry now Eriya! Take us back to Lord Folken!"

Eriya's guymelef shot into the sky towards the floating fortress. Adrina clung tightly to the guymelef as they rocketed towards the Vione. Adrina had wanted to go with them. She knew if Van found Folken, he'd kill him without question. They reached the floating fortress and saw Escaflowne with it's sword raised. Adrina's heart stopped when she saw Folken standing in the sword's path.

Without hesitation, Eriya slammed her guymelef into Escaflowne, sending it sprawling. The melef's hand was lowered to the ground and Naria and Adrina jumped off next to Folken. Naria stood protectively in front of him while Adrina ran to his side.

"Leave him to us, Lord Folken!" Naria declared.

"Naria," Folken said surprised. He turned to Adrina. "Adrina."

"Are you all right?" Adrina questioned.

Folken nodded.

"What's the matter with you?" Eriya shouted at Van, "Are you blind? Can't you see that Lord Folken cares about you? Why can't you see how much he cares? Answer me, why can't you see it?"

"Just what are you saying?" Van demanded.

"I won't let anyone make Lord Folken feel sad," Eriya shouted, "no one!"

Escaflowne's energist began to glow and an explosion erupted through the floor. Escaflowne was flung backwards, as were Naria and Eriya.

"Folken!" Adrina cried and tried her best to block him from the explosion. Once the fire had subsided, she stepped away from him. He started to say something to her, but his attention was drawn to something behind her.

"Naria! Eriya!" Folken rushed past Adrina and knelt down by the sisters. Both of them were injured and didn't look good.

"Lord Folken," Naria begged weakly, "Please get away from here." As she said this, the fortress shook and a portion of the floor fell away, revealing the ocean below.

"There's no need to worry about my sister and I," Eriya assured, "You don't know how glad we are to have met you, Lord Folken."

"And we are happy to die with you watching over us," Naria added. "Goodbye, Lord Folken." Both twins closed their eyes and went limp. From across the room, Adrina burst into tears. She was surprised to see Emperor Dornkirk appear on a screen behind Folken.

"There was a reaction?" Dornkirk questioned, "A reaction of misfortune to the artificially enhanced good fortune? But this experiment was successful beyond all my expectations. I have the answer! The answer that has forever eluded man. Our fate equations. And now..."

Folken stood from his crouch by the twins' bodies and threw off his sorcerer cloak. He turned to Dornkirk, his face a mask of rage and sorrow. "You are wrong, Your Majesty!"

"What?" Dornkirk demanded. The image began to distort and the screen cracked, then exploded. Folken stood motionless for a moment, then strode over to Eriya's guymelef. He climbed in and activated it. For a brief moment, Adrina thought Folken was going to leave her there to die. She realized she was wrong when he put the hand in front of her and closed it over her protectively when she climbed on. He engaged the rockets and blasted out of the gaping hole Van had made.

As they ascended into the sky, Adrina turned and saw the Vione hit the water and start to sink. With tears still streaming down her face, Adrina whispered, "Goodbye Naria. Goodbye Eriya. I'm sorry things turned out this way, but I promise I'll watch over Folken for you."