Thanks to all who took the time to review this story, I REALLY appreciate it.
I'm tired of disclaimers so I'm gonna stop writing them for this story. For the final time, I do not own Escaflowne...yadda...yadda...yadda
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy
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A fiendish cackle escaped Celena's lips as she surveyed her bedroom. Her sun bleached locks were littered across the floor, cut by the long, slender blade she held in her right hand. The other grasped a mirror which she moved up to her face to see the results of her handiwork. She grinned viciously at her reflection. 'Not bad,' she thought to herself. The new hairstyle would do nicely.
Celena stood, letting the mirror and kattana fall to the carpet. She brushed off what little hair that clung to her flowing yellow dress and sneered at the sight. This outfit would not be sufficient for what she had planned.
She turned to her closet and ripped the doors open. Within seconds all her garments had joined her hair on the floor, none of them being what she had in mind. All of the girl's drawers soon met the same fate but they too produced the same result the closet had.
Discouraged Celena sank to her bed in a pout. How was she supposed to move forth with her plans if she was not presentable enough to leave the house?
Suddenly however, as if by miracle, Celena noticed a box sticking slightly out from under her dresser. She leapt off the bed and retrieved the object. Inside was the attire she had been searching for all along. She didn't know how she had acquired it but it didn't matter, it was perfect. In a frenzy, Celena tore off the dress she was wearing and began donning her new duds.
Almost ready, she was interrupted by a knock at her door. A male's kind voice sounded her name. It was Allen, her brother.
"Don't come in," she quickly stated, "I'm changing." Her eyes flashed demonically.
If Allen had only known how true his sister's words were, he would not have stepped a foot in the room. Instead he waited patiently at the door until he was given permission to enter.
"Come in...Brother." The words slithered off the girl's tongue.
Allen walked through the doorway and paused immediately upon seeing the disarray. His eyes scanned the sight before him until they locked on the hilt of a weapon. He was about to ask his sister what his sword was doing in her room when he noticed her for the first time.
"Celena?"
Allen was shocked, to say the least, by the change in his sister. The figure standing before him looked like his sibling, but somehow very different. Celena's previously long, pale golden locks were cut to the base of her neck and layered down the sides of her face. Her eyes were partially concealed by wispy bangs that stopped just below her cheek bone. (1) She was wearing tight black leather pants and an equally form fitting tank top of the same color. Her feet rested comfortably in a pair of shiny leather boots that rose to mid-calf and they were fastened by three silver belt buckles. On her hands were ebony gloves that had the fingers missing and her wrists were clasped in wide silver bands. A blood red trench coat with a high collar completed her ensemble.
Despite her change in physical appearance, Allen was more concerned with what he saw deep in his sister's blue eyes. They weren't her eyes. The eyes he was staring into were demonic and they seemed to burn into his very soul.
"What's the matter Brother? Don't you like the new me?" Celena asked sweetly but with a slightly dangerous tone to her voice.
Allen stared back perplexed. Who was this person that looked like his sister but was clearly not? Then it came to him.
"Dilandau?"
Celena's face contorted into an evil grin. Allen gasped as his sister's face and body transformed before his eyes into the creature he had, for three years, dreaded would return. He thought Celena had managed to banish the white haired demon to the distance recesses of her mind, but he had been wrong, oh so very wrong. Dilandau was back and his sister was gone.
Dilandau moved casually toward Allen, inspired by the terror he saw in the ex-Asturian knight. The tall blond tensed as the albino stopped a foot away from him but he did not back away, nor did he break eye contact with him.
"What's the matter Allen? You're not afraid of your own sister are you?" Dilandau jeered, setting his mouth in a half smirk.
"You're not my sister Dilandau. You're a monster." Allen replied coolly, his gaze dancing with odium for the silver haired boy.
The former dragon slayer let out a dreadful chuckle that sent a shiver up Allen's spine.
"Oh Allen, you flatter me." Dilandau touched one hand to his heart while wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.
Allen was seething at the display. His insult had been taken as a compliment by the demonic child. He wanted to kill the boy right then and there but he did not have a weapon.
Just then his mind traced back, remembering that his kattana was in the room. He wondered if Dilandau remembered about it too. Allen's blue eyes shifted to the resting place of his sword, it was only and arm's reach away. He could get it if he moved quickly.
The golden haired knight sprang forward in an attempt to retrieve his weapon. A second later he was pinned against the wall with the blade of his own sword resting upon the pale skin of his neck.
"Now, now Schezar, what could you possibly need a sword for? You weren't planning to hurt me with it were you?" Dilandau inquired menacingly, putting pressure on the blade so that it drew blood.
Allen hissed as the razor edge cut into his flesh. The wound wasn't deep but it was certainly enough to make the blond knight uncomfortable.
Dilandau beamed at the fact that he had gotten the better of the 'Great Allen Schezar.' The boy knew all along that Allen was going to try and get his sword; Dilandau had been ready, waiting for the knight to make his move. When he did, it was only a simple matter of disarming him. Allen was out of practice and Dilandau knew it. His having to share a body with Celena was really paying off.
"You've been letting your training slip Schezar." The silver haired boy pointed out. "You're almost as worthless as Van now."
"Really?" Allen respired, sending jolts of pain through his neck with every breath. "Am I supposed to be insulted by that Dilandau? That is Van's handiwork is it not?" He eyed the scar on the boy's cheek.
Dilandau's grin vanished as rage overflowed inside. Allen had gotten to him this time.
"That bastard ruined my beautiful face!" He shouted, slamming the taller man harder against the wall.
Allen knew that it wasn't wise to taunt Dilandau but the reaction he was getting was priceless and he couldn't help but push it further.
"Oh I wouldn't say that." He smiled as Dilandau looked at him questioningly. "If anything, the scar is an improvement."
That comment sent the albino over the edge. He lost all control of what little sense he had and attacked the tall knight mercilessly. When he was done, Allen lay barely breathing in a heap on the floor. Blood seeped profusely from his mouth and his chest wounds. His shirt lay in rags beside his body, shredded by the gashes he had received.
Dilandau stared at the pitiful scene with a satisfied grin. Allen was not dead yet but he would be soon and he would not deal the fatal blow. He was not going to put Allen out of his misery. He was going to let him suffer until he took his last breath.
Kneeling beside Allen, he whispered in his ear. "By the way Brother, I'm borrowing your guymelef; I do hope you don't mind."
With that, the dragon slayer rose and left the room. He would not watch Allen die; he had wasted enough time on the tall blond. There was someone else he was itching to see again.
"I'm coming for you Van."
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Author's Notes:
OOOOH Van's in trouble now!
I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Please review and tell me what you think.
(1) Dilandau's hair looks a lot like Dante's hairstyle from the Capcom game DEVIL MAY CRY. I love that hairstyle and I always thought Dilandau needed a wilder mane to go with his personality.