Date. 06.02.2002 (finally finished on 07.20.2002. Egad.)
Time. 6.30 pm California time!!
Music. Actually, watching Invader Zim
Chapter 8

Copyright. I do not own the Vision of Escaflowne nor any of its characters. If I did, you would most definitely see a director's cut version of what REALLY happened at the end of the series.

Author's notes. (06.02.2002) Well well… I am home in my lovely state of California after 6 months of being away from all my friends and family. It seemed like forever for me. Anyhow, since all my finals and the first year is over with, the only thing I have to do this summer is work… and write more of Parvulus de Crepuscid! Woot woot! I think I might start going into revising since I'm kinda at a still point and am not quite sure where this story is going to go just yet. Some things will start to be explained in the upcoming few chapters finally and then there will be some action as well.

The Vision of Escaflowne. Parvulus de Crepuscid

Chapter 8. In the Rain

* * *

Her eyes widened in fear as she approached the Cassian palace with caution. There were several dark-clothed military soldiers standing about the leviship outside the walls, very similar to the ones she saw in her vision. How am I going to get past them, she wondered.

As if luck were on her side, one of the soldiers called for the others to prepare the leviship or something. They quickly left their posts and the front gate was open. Sellie seized her opportunity of chance and snuck through the giant archway.

She could see a large crowd of people gathered in the center of the courtyard, about five hundred feet from where she stood. She knew, somehow, that her parents were held there, as if they were captive. Almost… as if she had sensed it somehow. The vision had been blurry enough so that she could not recognize the detailed surroundings. How did she know where they were then?

"How'd she get by?!" a deep male voice shouted from behind her. Sellie quickly turned round to see a few of guards, bearing arms, coming towards her. She sprinted to the circle in the courtyard at full speed.

"Get her!" he ordered.

She could hear their boots hitting the ground with such force as they pursued her. Although she knew she was a very fast runner, it would not take long for these larger men to catch up her. But what if… she had to try and make it, just to see her parents once more.

She was only about fifty feet away when a bright light suddenly illuminated the group of people ahead of her, causing her to shade her eyes. She could hear cries of exclamation from the men in front and behind her. She would have continued to run towards her destination, but a searing pain shot throughout her body. Her mother's pendant began to glow wildly as she clutched her heart and stumbled to her knees. She gasped for air as she looked up from the ground, tears brimming in her eyes. The light had vanished with the men looking around confused. And then, she could see her father.

He was still held by three men, exactly how she saw it in her premonition. However, he did not seem as abused as she Saw it. Two black-cloaked figures, one being Lord Tarn, the other still shrouded, stood just next to him. But where was her mother?

"Hitomi!" Van cried out into the night, towards heaven. She could see his face so clearly from this distance, his features contorted in pain and angst. She stood to her feet and began to walk towards him, unbalanced.

"Daddy!" she called out to him at the moment she was about to fall once more. However, strong arms wrapped themselves around her body and held her tightly. Too late, her mind panicked. Caught.

"DADDY!" she screamed louder as more soldiers withheld her roughly, keeping her limbs constrained. Van averted his attention from the sky to his daughter. As he turned his head, the other cloaked person stepped forward and removed his mask. Quidam… her face changed from fear to hurt as she looked at him, the now-free tears falling from her eyes. Quidam did this?

"Sellie?" she could see the puzzled look on Van's face as he mouthed her name. Then, with the rest of his remaining strength, he struggled to break free of his hold. "Sellie!"

"Daddy!" she cried out again. One of the soldiers covered her mouth as they pulled her back outside the courtyard and towards the leviship landing pad. Quidam just watched her as he grew smaller in the distance, his eyes showing no other expression but sadness.

"Let her go, you son of a bitch!" she could hear her father shout angrily as he disappeared from view. "Sellie!"

* * *

The moment that Hitomi had vanished from his eyes, it seemed that Time had slowed to a halt. Van felt an incredibly intense energy being ripped away from his own heart that had lasted both a fraction of a second and an eternity. The light had blinded him as he was swallowed into the pain.

The next thing he knew, Hitomi and Ashira were gone from his sight, and he could see Sellie in the distance being chased by Tarn's men. His hearing, still ringing from earlier, could barely make out her voice screaming for him.

Why… he questioned silently. Why am I always losing those I love?

hitomi! he screamed out in his mind over and over. He searched desperately within himself for the golden link that connected he and his soul mate to each other's hearts. But nothing remained of the connection between he and Hitomi. For the first time in twenty years, he had become truly alone.

Where are you…

"Captain," he heard Tarn order. "Will you please escort Lord Fanel to his new chambers and detain him there under further notice?"

What has happened…

"Yes, Sire," the Captain replied and glanced at one of the men holding Van. He received another blow in the face, which diminished his struggles against the soldiers. His vision obscured, he could feel them dragging his body through the grass

Why…

He heard someone calling his name in surprise and alarm. He managed to lift his battered head to see Allen's grimaced face. Although he too was being forced back along with the other party-goers, the Asturian Knight remained free.

We'll break you out, Allen mouthed to him. It took Van a moment to comprehend what his friend's lips said, but he nodded in agreement. He turned and ran back towards the palace.

His sight was still blurry as he felt himself forced up the metal gangway into what seemed to be a leviship. Colors and lights flashed before his eyes, but he could not recognize definite shapes. He stumbled along the corridor, sometimes knocked in the stomach by one of the officers as they walked.

"Get in there!" the soldier growled, shoving him harshly. His balance still distorted, Van fell hard on his side. He groaned in pain and felt his ribs. Though battered, they seemed to be whole.

"Sweet dreams, Your… Highness," the soldier said snidely, then slammed the cell door shut, laughing with his comrades. The clang of the metal echoed in the silent room.

Van held his forehead in pain and frustration. The entire leviship shuddered as it lifted from the ground. Now where?

"Daddy?" a small voice whispered from outside of his cell. He rose to his feet, noticing that he was regaining his balance and that his eyesight slowly was returning. He grasped the metal bars that stood vertical in the tiny opening of his door.

"Sellie? Is that you?" he asked, his voice hoarse. He could see her fingers also wrapped around the bars on her door across the hall.

"Yeah," she answered. Her face peeked in the crack. Van saw her wide green eyes stare back into his. Hitomi's eyes…

"Are you alright?" he asked more sternly this time.

"Yeah… I've just got some scratches from the forest…" the tone of her voice sounded like the poor child was in shock. She seemed disoriented and confused. But who wouldn't be after the ordeal she was just put through?

"What were you doing in the forest?! What were you thinking?" he snapped, a little more than he had planned to. All of his anger and emotions were brought out at that moment… and they were towards the one person that shouldn't take it. But he was cross and scared for her. She went out into an unknown forest by herself in the middle of the night. And he let his parental instincts take over.

At this point, her voice broke. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I just wanted some fresh air! I didn't mean to travel so far away from the palace. I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I didn't…"

"Shhh… Sellie… shhh…" Van tried to comfort the girl and calm her nerves, returning to his own self once more. "It's alright… I didn't mean to yell like that… shhhh… I'm sorry. We were just… worried about you."

Sellie sniffled a little. "I just don't understand what is going on now… why does Lord Tarn want us? Where did they take Mom to?"

"I'm not sure, Sellie…" he stammered. "I'm not sure of anything anymore. But I do know this… whatever happens, I'm going to get you out of here and take you far away from all of this. This fight, this conflict… this _war_ is not yours."

She looked at him and nodded her head. He cracked an awkward grin at her that seemed to ease her shattered nerves. "Now, I know it won't be very comfortable… but try and rest. I'll stay up and keep watch. We're probably going to be in here for awhile… otherwise, they wouldn't need a leviship for transportation."

She snorted. "Sleep," she muttered. "That's the last thing that's on my mind."

* * *

What the hell is going on? Allen thought impatiently as he ran in the palace, weaving in and out of rooms looking for Millerna and Dryden. Had something happened to his King and Queen as well? Why Van, Hitomi, and Sellie?

He assumed that wherever Tarn had been taking Van and Sellie that he had already taken Hitomi. He did not see her among the large group of soldiers dressed in black.

He hurried past Rouen's guestroom and glanced briefly, almost missing the unmistakable flash of golden hair. He halted urgently and walked in.

Millerna lounged upon Rouen's bed, holding a half-drunken glass of vino in her hand. Her son was sprawled over the arms of the large leather chair that sat in the far corner. At the moment that Allen walked in, Millerna sat up.

"What's wrong?" she asked, setting down her glass.

He didn't answer right away. "Where's Dryden?" he said instead.

"He's out on the balcony… smoking his pipe," she gestured to the open door. "Why? What's going on?"

He walked towards her and grabbed her hand. "We're leaving," he said harshly. "Dryden! Let's go!"

Millerna cried out softly and pulled her arm away. "What is going on!?" she shouted. Dryden walked in.

"Allen, what is the meaning of this?" he asked calmly, his face showing his seriousness.

He sighed. "Something happened to the Fanels just now," he finally explained. "I just saw Tarn arrest Van… it looked like he had been beaten before I had gotten there. I also saw them dragging Sellie into the leviship on the landing pad. I didn't see Hitomi, but I'm assuming that she was already in it."

Millerna drew her hands to cover her mouth. "Oh gods," she whispered.

Rouen, as soon as Allen had mentioned Sellie's name, straightened himself in the armchair. "They did something to Sellie?" he inquired.

Allen shook his head. "She wasn't hurt… just scared," he replied. "I'm going after them, and I don't want to leave you in the hands of someone like Tarn."

"Give us a moment," Dryden said, but Rouen was already at the door.

"I'm going with Sir Allen," he shouted back.

"Rouen! Wait!" Millerna cried.

"Mom, Sellie's in trouble," he turned around and looked into his mother's eyes. "I'm not going to sit around and do nothing." He paused. "Besides, you know why I am going."

She looked at the boy, and, for a moment, he seemed to have grown to a young man in her eyes, exactly the person that Hitomi had prophesized he would be all those years ago. But she blinked and the vision vanished, leaving her with her 14 year old son.

"Go," she whispered. "We'll catch up."

Rouen grinned and raced out the door, quickly followed by Allen.

They burst out of the front courtyard doors just in time to see Tarn's leviship… the Myriad, as Allen recalled him calling it, disappearing over the northern mountains. It seemed that the remaining soldiers had boarded the leviship along with Tarn, for they were nowhere in sight.

"Come, Prince Rouen," he said. "The Crusade is over here. I'll need to wake the Crew to get it started, but we should be ready to go by the time that your parents arrive."

The boy nodded. "What do you want me to do?" he asked. "I know how to work on a leviship. Father lets me tinker with ours."

"Good, then go to the propeller rooms and heat up the energist stones. Those should take a while to get going."

Rouen nodded and took off down the empty corridor, his footsteps echoing against the metal floor. He's got the adventurous spirit that his mother has, Allen thought.

He took a sharp right at the intersection of hallways and entered the sleeping quarters of his crew. He slammed his fist against the first shut door loudly.

"Reeden!" he shouted. "Get up! We're leaving!"

There was a silence, then a moan and a shuffle within the room. A second later, the short Crew member opened the narrow door, rubbing his eyes.

"What's wrong, Boss?" he asked wearily.

"We're leaving. Rouse the others." He took off to the other quarters further down the hall. Reeden shrugged his shoulders, yawned, and knocked hard on the next door.

"C'mon, you lazy asses!" he yelled and tried to muffle another yawn. "We're gonna go crash another party!"

Other members of the Crew emptied out in the hallways, some half-dressed in bed clothing. Many were confused, but Reeden just slapped them on the back.

"The Boss wants us to start up the Crusade," he said. "No questions asked."

Allen quickly went into his own chambers at the end and grabbed his sword. He then walked across and pounded on his sister's door.

"Celena! You there? Wake up!" he shouted. He had noticed earlier that she was not in her guestroom inside the Cassian palace. Perhaps she was spending the night in the leviship.

He heard gasping and sudden movement inside the room. Fearful that something was wrong, he barged in.

Celena had only managed to slip on a sheer robe and wrap it about her thin body as Allen stepped into the room. But the look of shock and anger on her brother's narrowed face was not fixated on her, but on the half-dressed Gaddes standing behind her.

"Boss… I… I can explain," Gaddes stammered.

"Get out," was the cold reply.

"But Boss…"

"Gaddes… its alright," Celena interrupted. "Could you give us a moment, please?"

The Second-in-Command paused momentarily, grabbed his shirt, and slipped out of the room.

Celena looked upon him, her usually calm sapphire eyes were glowing with fire and rage. "You have no right, Brother."

"Get dressed. We're leaving." Allen quickly spun on his boots and left the room. Celena pulled the robe tighter and followed after him.

"You have NO right, Brother!" she repeated louder. "This is MY life!"

"Yes, and you are my sister and *he* is my Number One," he snapped. He caught one of the Crew members' eyes. He took the hint and cleared the hallway.

"This is my life, Allen," she said slowly. "You are not the one to tell me what to do. All my life, you've been making my decisions for me… never letting me have a choice in the matter."

"Oh, so am I supposed to stand aside and allow you to sleep with one of my men?"

"Gods, Allen! You make it sound like I'm whoring myself!" she shouted. "I'm 34 years-old. I am the one to choose who I love. And I love Gaddes."

Allen turned around, shaking his head. "I do NOT have time for this. I'm going after the Fanels. Are you coming or not?"

Celena stared at him with glistening eyes. "I'm with you," she finally said quietly.

"Good," Allen replied frigidly. "Then this matter will be settled later, understand?" He continued walking to the control room as the sounds of the engines roared to life.

"Only when you understand that Gaddes and I love each other!" she cried after him. He took no heed and continued walking. At the moment when he disappeared around the corner, Celena fell to her knees and burst into tears.

* * *

Sellie had decided not to tell Van about her experience with the dragon in the mystical cave behind the waterfall. She wasn't sure quite why, but she felt that subject did not fit into their current predicament. She fell into a dreamless sleep against the cold metal floor shortly after her talk with her father. His face was so battered and bruised, she had noticed.

A sudden shift had knocked her from her sleep. She rubbed one eye and walked to the door.

"Dad?" she called across the hall. "You awake?"

"Yes, Sellie," he replied groggily. "Be prepared."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

His voice was so low, Sellie had to strain to hear him. "I overheard one of the guards. They are going to remove us from the cells and take us somewhere. I want you to be ready for anything."

She nodded in the silence. But be prepared for what?

It didn't take that long to answer her unspoken question. She could hear their loud footsteps sounding against the metallic floor as they made way to the end of the hallway to their cells. At the moment when the key clicked inside of the lock, Sellie burst from her containment and into her father's arms. The soldiers made no immediate movement to break their reunion, but soon, one of them pulled Van down the hall.

"Let's go," he growled. He stood in front of Van and headed the way.

The guards led them into a large open area, what Sellie could only assume was the bridge of the leviship. Several crew members hurried about, checking on the gauges and levels on the control panel. More of the dark-clad soldiers stood about with swords at their sides and long spears in their hands.

Lord Tarn and Quidam stood at the front, staring out in the grand window that towered above them by about 40 feet. Sellie could barely see anything out beyond the glass; although the sun had not dawned, the sky was a shade of gray.

"Well, well… you all look rested and healthy… as well as could expected," Tarn grinned.

"Go to hell," Van spat. "Where are we?"

"Temper, temper, Lord Van," he tsked. "And in front of your daughter as well! Shameful." He walked over to the glass and pointed out into the distance. "As of right now, the Myriad is over the Ravele Desert. I was planning on leaving you out here, but since it is pouring rain right now, there is no sun. Now where is the fun in that? So we are going just beyond that to the mountain chain where the summit is always nice and cold."

"Why are you doing this?" Sellie whispered, her eyes laying solely on Quidam. He avoided her gaze.

"Oh dear child," Tarn approached her. "As a future ruler of your country, you have to know that you would do anything for your people. And that there are certain sacrifices you have to make." He held her chin up to look into her swelling eyes. "Pity, Fanel," he said to Van, still staring at Sellie. "I proposed the engagement to save her life from this fate."

Sellie pulled her head away. Tarn smirked. "But she is as stubborn as you are. Quidam!"

The boy looked up, no emotions in his face. He made no reply.

"Come over here and give your would-have-been bride a proper farewell!"

For a moment, Sellie had believed that the Cassian prince had given second thought to this situation. But her heart fell as he took steps towards her, now staring fully into her eyes. He spoke no audible words to her, but something about those made her think otherwise.

Without warning, he grabbed her and kissed her firmly on the lips.

Van made a wordless protest to only himself, but noticed this was also an unplanned distraction. As the soldiers gave loud cheers for the boy, he seized this opportunity to make some sort of escape. The men, armed but unaware of what was happening, did not notice as their prisoner snuck one of their swords away. With his weakening strength, he managed to break way of the group before they regained their thoughts and attacked him.

Sellie struggled, but only for a moment. She felt helpless as he pulled away and leaned in. "Your mother is home," he whispered quickly into her ear. "Rescue her before three days."

He stood back and stared into her confused eyes. She was about to ask why, but she felt someone grab her hand and yank her away.

"We're getting out of here," she heard her father say. "Stay close!"

She set her feet on the ground and followed Van to the front of the bridge. His sword was ready for battle, as were the other 15 men.

They are herding us, Sellie thought. Against the window… so we can't escape. She glanced up at Van, who looked as though as he were about to give up. However, he hurled his sword at the group, picked up one of the control panel chairs sitting next to them, and tossed it into the great window.

It made a tremendous shattering, putting a small, jagged hole into one of the panes, barely large enough for a child to fit through. Within that second, Van pulled Sellie into his arms and threw himself at the window, his back hitting the glass and protecting his daughter.

The cold air blasted at her as icy raindrops stung her face. She had no time to protest his actions. All now she felt was fear. Beyond the shattering of the glass and the wind whipping about them as they free-fell, she heard Van groan as if he were in pain. She clawed to keep hold of Van even tighter as something bright and white flashed out of the corner of her eye. Search lights? Are they looking for us?

Suddenly, the wind no longer howled… and they had stopped falling. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched to Van's shirt as she felt them slow and eventually cease to fall. They've got us, she thought in horror.

"Sellie…" she heard Van murmur as he stroked her hair. "It's alright…"

She managed to open one eye and saw that they were hovering over the desert ground, about 40 feet up. She held onto Van even tighter, not understanding how this was possible. She turned around to face her father, but could not help and notice the extensive white wings that flapped against the wind.

"Are you hurt?" he asked urgently.

Sellie shook her head. "D-dad?" she stuttered. "Y-you've got wings?"

He nodded, his face solemn. "I'll explain everything later, but now, we must find someplace safe. Hang on… this could get bumpy."

Sellie wrapped her arms around his neck and watched, wide-eyed, as they descended to the desert floor below. His wings made hardly a rustle as they beat in the dark sky. As she clutched onto Van, Sellie's thoughts raced through her mind. So many things had happened in a short amount of time that she did not know how she felt in this moment. Her mother disappeared, they were betrayed, and now she was flying over a desert with her angel-father. Was he a fallen angel? She did feel a strange calm fill her body as they flew… almost as if she had done this before in a dream…

They landed rather harshly in the wet sand. Sellie was jolted awkwardly from his hold and fell onto her side. She sputtered and spit out the few grains of sand that had gotten into her mouth. Her wet hair clung to her face as she adjusted herself to look at her father. She wanted answers.

However, Van was also laying on the ground, face down, his immaculate wings draped limply over his body. Sellie crawled over and shook him. No effect.

"Daddy?" she asked, dreading the only sound of the falling rain surrounding around them. She struggled as she pushed him so that he was on his back, careful that she would not crush his wings. His linen shirt that he had wore to last night's events was tattered in two locations; one, where his wings had emerged from his back, and the other in his side, where a shard of glass the size of Sellie's open palm was protruding. Dark liquid soaked his shirt from the broken piece. She dared not touch it, for fear that it would cause even more damage.

She tried to remain calm, but fear and panic was quickly taking over her conscious thought. A loud engine could be heard in the distance, cutting through the storming clouds. She looked up to see the Myriad they just escaped from moving further away from them, leaving them alone in the desert.

She moved herself under Van so that she could cradle his head in her lap. His closed eyes would twitch each time a raindrop hit his lids, giving Sellie hope that he could pull through and awake once more.

But how could anyone survive in the conditions that they were in?

Her only remaining hope was praying for a miracle. She knew that they were far from any civilization, even if she would be able to move Van to any different location.

God… she thought, her eyes shut tight. Someone… anyone… please help us. I know that I have not been the most devoted person spiritually that I can be… but I can try harder. My father is hurt… maybe even dying. He just shared his deepest secret with me and I feared him for a moment too soon. He caught that fear in my eyes. Please, God… I want… I want him to know that I am not afraid… and…

She broke down at that moment, letting the tears go that she held back. Please, Dad… wake up… I'm sorry… wake up…

"There's no need to cry, little one," a soft, willowy voice broke through the endless rain. Sellie lifted her head up, her red puffy eyes staring the shadowed outline a person clad in a sleeved cloak upon some sort of elk. "He needs only the sound of your voice to help him heal."

She looked upon her in confusion as the mysterious person dismounted from the tall, proud beast and walked over to where Sellie and Van sat. As the woman (or, at least, Sellie assumed that she was a woman as she had only heard her voice) drew closer, she noticed the fine, intricate details of her green-and-gold cloak. Funny, she thought. It looks fairly familiar to something that Mom has in her wardrobe.

She was rather short, only a little taller than Sellie. Her hood covered half of her face; Sellie could only see her lips as they curled into a faint smile. She tsk-tsked softly as she brushed away Van's wet forelock. "Always getting himself into trouble," she said. She shifted her gaze to Sellie and removed her hood, revealing her bright green eyes and tumbling locks of black hair.

"Who are you?" Sellie whispered.

"Sitting out in the rain and the cold is no way for proper introductions, don't you think… Sellie?" the woman replied.

Sellie sucked in her breath. "How do you know my name?"

"There are many things that I know about you, dear heart, and there are many things that you are going to learn about yourself." She held out her hand. "Please, Sellie, let us go someplace a little… nicer."

The child knew not of what to think. Van and Hitomi had always said do not talk to strangers, but her heart felt more at ease around this woman, just like it had with Dralion. Considering her past few hours of excitement, she chose to follow her heart and trust her instincts. She cautiously placed her hand into the woman's outstretched one.

Besides, ANY place was better than stuck out in the desert storm.

She sighed and lifted her hand to the woman's gesture. As soon as their fingers made contact, a bright flash emerged from inside of her cloak and reached out. It surrounded her and Van. Suddenly, she no longer felt the rain splash against her face. She clenched her eyes shut against the brilliance, feeling her body lift into weightlessness. Though she could not see anything surrounding her, Sellie knew that she was traveling at a phenomenal speed, unnatural for any human.

But where was she traveling to? And what had she gotten herself into?

to be continued…

* * *

07.20.2002 Aiyeeee! I am soooo sorry about how long it took to write this chapter… this tiny chapter that took SO LONG! I had a huge writer's block but I kept on working out things in my head. I actually have the entire ending thought out in detail. Alas, that will not come until… uh, the end? I was lucky enough to go to AnimeExpo with my friends and got two Escaflowne animation cels. One of them is from the first episode right after Hitomi smacks the crap out of Van (*snicker*). Plus, ff.n had been on the blitz so I think it is alright now to post.

Chapter title comes from a Cowboy Bebop song called "Walk in the Rain"

As always, please leave the Jigglykat a little something something in the review window so that it will show that she is actually doing something productive and worthwhile. J