MysticalDreamer32- I can't answer your questions because it will give
away the story. So. sorry.
Yugismpuzzle-Don't worry! I won't forget the "A Blessing From the Sky"
Night of the Raven- Uhhh. errr. hehehe..
Ryuu Angel- Whoops! Sorry about the bale thing! I often make that mistake when typing!
Hitomi21- heehee! Thank you!
Alright! I just wanted to announce that I have just gotten and editor and it is Yugismpuzzle. Oh yeah! I expect night_sting to review once in a while and get the truth and dare thing over with! I know you're out there somewhere so don't even try and not review! Remember, I know where you live. Be afraid! Be very afraid! Oh well, you know what happens when I am hyper!
All righty! On with the story!
Eliminating the Shadows
Disclaimer: I don't own escaflowne
Chapter three: Unexpected Request
Hitomi was already stretching her muscles when the sun met the world.
She had been up quite early this morning and had been stretching since. She had always been the early bird of the group. However, this time, it was because of one peculiar dream.
There she was, in the dark, when one pair of golden yellow eyes stared at her. She had never seen eyes like those before. It seemed as if they were a mix of animal and man.
Then, the view became white but before she could see anything, she woke up. And that's how she ended up as being the very early bird today.
The sun peaked in Hitomi's room.
She stopped stretching and woke Mamouro up. He slowly opened his eyes only to meet her sister's smiling face.
"Get up sleepy head. We've got work to do."
"I'm up, I'm up."
Hitomi smiled at her brother's answer. It was proof that he still wanted to sleep. It was probably because of the two days they had traveled. They only stopped to rest at night so it was reasonable that he would want to sleep more.
When Hitomi was positive that he wouldn't go back to sleep, she went to the other room. She woke the other two sleepyheads in a very rough manner.
At first, when she entered the room and saw the two sleeping figures she thought 'cute'. However, when they wouldn't wake up she thought 'REALLY cute!'
That's when she went downstairs, got two glasses of cold drinking water, went back up the room and.
Splash!
Immediately, Castor and Luc were conscious.
'VERY cute.' Hitomi thought when she went back to her own room.
They all had their breakfast in a slow manner. None of them wanted to see the king because they were still tired. Well, all except Hitomi who already finished and was preparing her horse.
When all of them were done with the morning traditions, Hitomi checked out of the inn and went outside. There, her team awaited her.
She got on her horse and the others followed suit. After that, they immediately went toward the castle.
When they arrived at the gates, five castle guards immediately greeted them. All of which had swords on their hip.
"I'm sorry. The palace is closed to public due to problem with the shadows. Please turn back immediately."
Hitomi got of her horse and walked over to the guard who had just spoken.
"We have a letter of invitation from the king himself. I believe you have been informed of our arrival."
Hitomi said as she handed the letter sent to them by King Goau.
The guard examined it. He looked at the seal and it was indeed Fanelian. He handed it back to Hitomi and nodded to the rest of the guards. One of the guards gave him an armored horse and he mounted it.
"Please follow me."
Hitomi nodded and mounted her horse once more. She followed the guard and her team followed her. After a while of playing follow the leader, they finally arrived at the main entrance.
They got off their horses and entered the palace. However, before they could proceed any further, the guard stopped them.
"For the purpose of protecting the royal family, we want you to remove all of your weapons. Please put them on the table over there."
Hitomi looked at her group and nodded. They started to remove all of their weapons. They put all of them on the table as the guard instructed them to.
The guard was surprised at what he saw. There on the table, were all sorts of weapons: daggers, a heavy blade, bombs, poison, and a huge shuriken. The list goes on and on.
"Ahem."
The guard snapped out of his bewilderment by Hitomi's voice. He looked at the king's guests only to find them already unarmed.
"Uhh.please follow me," he said then he lead the way once more.
The group followed the guard in silence. They passed many doors and guards giving them all strange looks.
Luc and Castor assumed that it was because public was not allowed inside the castle now. Well, it's either that or they were checking they're leader out.
"Can't blame them, my little sis is one hot babe," Luc whispered to Castor.
"If only they knew her personality," Castor smirked.
Hitomi turned around and face the two males. Her facial expression seemed to be that of playfulness.
"I heard that!"
Castor merely chuckled and Luc smiled.
"C'mon princess, the king awaits," Luc said then dragged Hitomi before she and Castor could have a little verbal fight. They, weren't really mad at each other, it was just kind of like playing. When they have exhausted their vocabulary, they would just go together, drink some water, and then start over once more.
They arrived in front of the doors that lead to the throne room with Hitomi being dragged by Luc and Castor smiling. The fates were on Castor's side today.
When the doors to the throne room opened, they immediately straightened. Since Mamouro was a new comer, he was surprised that they were suddenly so serious.
Hitomi noticed that her brother was getting confused. Why wouldn't he? He still didn't understand their rank and the rank of the royalties. After all, he was just twelve years old and ranks weren't taught to children until they came of the age of thirteen.
Hitomi smiled at her brother and motioned him to be formal as well. Her little brother understood and became a little serious. Hitomi looked at the guard, he nodded and then introduced them.
"Your majesty, the king, your guests have arrived."
At once, all of the attention in the throne room was focused on Hitomi and her party.
The king looked at the small team. He was wondering who they were. The palace was temporarily closed to the public. This was because of the trouble the shadows were causing. His advisers were also wondering about the same thing.
Hitomi's eyes scanned the place. The room was enormous. It was much more beautiful than the throne room in Basram or the one in Asturia. Yes, she had been in those places, but it was always because of a mission.
She sighed. She remembered them all. It seemed that everywhere she went, there was always fighting. It's not that she wasn't content in helping people, it's just that just once, she would like to go to a place where she didn't need to fight. But she couldn't. This was her job, no her life. And it was one of the things that she valued most.
Hitomi walked and her group followed her. She stopped right before the stairs where the king and his throne were located. She kneeled down and so did her comrades.
The king looked at them. He noted their strange clothes and the way their bodies were built. His eyes widened.
They couldn't be could they? They couldn't be the warriors that he had asked Chief Lyon to send to him.
"Rise."
Hitomi and her group then rose and looked at the king.
"Introduce yourselves."
"Your majesty, I am Hitomi Kanzaki, the leader of the Seven Shadow Warriors. These are my companions, Luc Windhawk, Castor Lirich and Mamouro Kanzaki. We are the ones that Chief Lyon sent to exterminate the shadows here."
The king's eyes widened more. He looked at the female leader. He couldn't believe his eyes. It had been so long ago that he had seen her. It was the time when he had invited Lyon and his family to come to the palace because there was a celebration. The celebration was about one of their sons' birthday. The chief had attended with his wife and his three-year-old daughter.
That was how he had met Hitomi. He smiled. She had grown so much.
"Hello Hitomi. It has been so long."
"I beg your pardon?"
"It figures you don't know me. It has already been fifteen years since I last saw you. You've grown."
"?"
"Anyway, let us move into the meeting room. There can be time for reunions later. Come."
With that, he stood up and went to another door. The others followed suit and soon found themselves sitting on the chairs that surrounded a round table.
There was silence among the group. Hitomi scanned the place with her green orbs. There were only three windows and each one had a guard beside it. Each guard had a thick armor on. Her eyes glazed over the door that lead in and out of the room. That too had a guard. All in all, the room is pretty much protected.
Her eyes returned to the king. He was smiling at her. She put up a questioning face. But his smile only grew wider.
"Anyway, as you all know, shadows have started appearing in the West Dragon Forest three days ago. We have tried to exterminate them but they were stronger than the usual shadows. That is why I have asked the aid of the shadow warriors though I never thought that Lyon would send his own daughter and son. Tell me, Lady Hitomi, what is going on in the Shadow Hunter Village to push Lyon to do this?"
"Not that much. The village is just a little anxious about the sudden appearances of the shadows. And why he sent my brother and I along, I don't know. He wouldn't tell me the reason."
"Well. if it's Lyon, then there must be a good reason."
"Yes, I believe that too."
"Anyway, Lady Hitomi, I want your team to leave tomorrow morning and eliminate the shadows that have appeared in the West Dragon Forest."
"Of course, your majesty."
When everybody was about to leave, the king asked the leader of the Seven Shadow Warriors to stay behind. Apparently, he had something he wanted to tell her.
Hitomi looked at he group. She nodded and gave them a smile. They went out of the room and Hitomi was left with the king.
There was silence for a while as the two stared at each other. One looking happy while the other one looked confused.
"Lady Hitomi, I want one of my son to go with you on this mission."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yes. I want one of my sons to go with you."
"But your majesty, it's quite dangerous and-"
"I know. I know it's dangerous but, I want him to experience battle."
"But why your majesty?"
"I don't know, I just feel like something is going to happen. I want Van to be able to handle the pressure when that time comes. So please, Lady Hitomi. Grant my request."
". Very well, but I will treat him like my team. Being royalty is not an exception."
" I understand. I'm sure that will help him too."
"All right then, I will be going now. The time for our departure will be at dawn."
With that, Hitomi left the room leaving the king behind. The king looked outside the window. He sighed. He hoped that he was doing the right thing.
He shook his head no; he was doing the right thing. He was training his son so that he will be able to protect himself when the time comes. He closed his eyes. If what Lyon told him has true, then a war would not be far off. And his son was going to be one of the main characters in that play of death.
How was that? Okay! I don't know if Van will be in the next chapter. The explanation on how Goau and Lyon became friends will be in the fifth or the fourth chapter. R and R please.
Yugismpuzzle-Don't worry! I won't forget the "A Blessing From the Sky"
Night of the Raven- Uhhh. errr. hehehe..
Ryuu Angel- Whoops! Sorry about the bale thing! I often make that mistake when typing!
Hitomi21- heehee! Thank you!
Alright! I just wanted to announce that I have just gotten and editor and it is Yugismpuzzle. Oh yeah! I expect night_sting to review once in a while and get the truth and dare thing over with! I know you're out there somewhere so don't even try and not review! Remember, I know where you live. Be afraid! Be very afraid! Oh well, you know what happens when I am hyper!
All righty! On with the story!
Eliminating the Shadows
Disclaimer: I don't own escaflowne
Chapter three: Unexpected Request
Hitomi was already stretching her muscles when the sun met the world.
She had been up quite early this morning and had been stretching since. She had always been the early bird of the group. However, this time, it was because of one peculiar dream.
There she was, in the dark, when one pair of golden yellow eyes stared at her. She had never seen eyes like those before. It seemed as if they were a mix of animal and man.
Then, the view became white but before she could see anything, she woke up. And that's how she ended up as being the very early bird today.
The sun peaked in Hitomi's room.
She stopped stretching and woke Mamouro up. He slowly opened his eyes only to meet her sister's smiling face.
"Get up sleepy head. We've got work to do."
"I'm up, I'm up."
Hitomi smiled at her brother's answer. It was proof that he still wanted to sleep. It was probably because of the two days they had traveled. They only stopped to rest at night so it was reasonable that he would want to sleep more.
When Hitomi was positive that he wouldn't go back to sleep, she went to the other room. She woke the other two sleepyheads in a very rough manner.
At first, when she entered the room and saw the two sleeping figures she thought 'cute'. However, when they wouldn't wake up she thought 'REALLY cute!'
That's when she went downstairs, got two glasses of cold drinking water, went back up the room and.
Splash!
Immediately, Castor and Luc were conscious.
'VERY cute.' Hitomi thought when she went back to her own room.
They all had their breakfast in a slow manner. None of them wanted to see the king because they were still tired. Well, all except Hitomi who already finished and was preparing her horse.
When all of them were done with the morning traditions, Hitomi checked out of the inn and went outside. There, her team awaited her.
She got on her horse and the others followed suit. After that, they immediately went toward the castle.
When they arrived at the gates, five castle guards immediately greeted them. All of which had swords on their hip.
"I'm sorry. The palace is closed to public due to problem with the shadows. Please turn back immediately."
Hitomi got of her horse and walked over to the guard who had just spoken.
"We have a letter of invitation from the king himself. I believe you have been informed of our arrival."
Hitomi said as she handed the letter sent to them by King Goau.
The guard examined it. He looked at the seal and it was indeed Fanelian. He handed it back to Hitomi and nodded to the rest of the guards. One of the guards gave him an armored horse and he mounted it.
"Please follow me."
Hitomi nodded and mounted her horse once more. She followed the guard and her team followed her. After a while of playing follow the leader, they finally arrived at the main entrance.
They got off their horses and entered the palace. However, before they could proceed any further, the guard stopped them.
"For the purpose of protecting the royal family, we want you to remove all of your weapons. Please put them on the table over there."
Hitomi looked at her group and nodded. They started to remove all of their weapons. They put all of them on the table as the guard instructed them to.
The guard was surprised at what he saw. There on the table, were all sorts of weapons: daggers, a heavy blade, bombs, poison, and a huge shuriken. The list goes on and on.
"Ahem."
The guard snapped out of his bewilderment by Hitomi's voice. He looked at the king's guests only to find them already unarmed.
"Uhh.please follow me," he said then he lead the way once more.
The group followed the guard in silence. They passed many doors and guards giving them all strange looks.
Luc and Castor assumed that it was because public was not allowed inside the castle now. Well, it's either that or they were checking they're leader out.
"Can't blame them, my little sis is one hot babe," Luc whispered to Castor.
"If only they knew her personality," Castor smirked.
Hitomi turned around and face the two males. Her facial expression seemed to be that of playfulness.
"I heard that!"
Castor merely chuckled and Luc smiled.
"C'mon princess, the king awaits," Luc said then dragged Hitomi before she and Castor could have a little verbal fight. They, weren't really mad at each other, it was just kind of like playing. When they have exhausted their vocabulary, they would just go together, drink some water, and then start over once more.
They arrived in front of the doors that lead to the throne room with Hitomi being dragged by Luc and Castor smiling. The fates were on Castor's side today.
When the doors to the throne room opened, they immediately straightened. Since Mamouro was a new comer, he was surprised that they were suddenly so serious.
Hitomi noticed that her brother was getting confused. Why wouldn't he? He still didn't understand their rank and the rank of the royalties. After all, he was just twelve years old and ranks weren't taught to children until they came of the age of thirteen.
Hitomi smiled at her brother and motioned him to be formal as well. Her little brother understood and became a little serious. Hitomi looked at the guard, he nodded and then introduced them.
"Your majesty, the king, your guests have arrived."
At once, all of the attention in the throne room was focused on Hitomi and her party.
The king looked at the small team. He was wondering who they were. The palace was temporarily closed to the public. This was because of the trouble the shadows were causing. His advisers were also wondering about the same thing.
Hitomi's eyes scanned the place. The room was enormous. It was much more beautiful than the throne room in Basram or the one in Asturia. Yes, she had been in those places, but it was always because of a mission.
She sighed. She remembered them all. It seemed that everywhere she went, there was always fighting. It's not that she wasn't content in helping people, it's just that just once, she would like to go to a place where she didn't need to fight. But she couldn't. This was her job, no her life. And it was one of the things that she valued most.
Hitomi walked and her group followed her. She stopped right before the stairs where the king and his throne were located. She kneeled down and so did her comrades.
The king looked at them. He noted their strange clothes and the way their bodies were built. His eyes widened.
They couldn't be could they? They couldn't be the warriors that he had asked Chief Lyon to send to him.
"Rise."
Hitomi and her group then rose and looked at the king.
"Introduce yourselves."
"Your majesty, I am Hitomi Kanzaki, the leader of the Seven Shadow Warriors. These are my companions, Luc Windhawk, Castor Lirich and Mamouro Kanzaki. We are the ones that Chief Lyon sent to exterminate the shadows here."
The king's eyes widened more. He looked at the female leader. He couldn't believe his eyes. It had been so long ago that he had seen her. It was the time when he had invited Lyon and his family to come to the palace because there was a celebration. The celebration was about one of their sons' birthday. The chief had attended with his wife and his three-year-old daughter.
That was how he had met Hitomi. He smiled. She had grown so much.
"Hello Hitomi. It has been so long."
"I beg your pardon?"
"It figures you don't know me. It has already been fifteen years since I last saw you. You've grown."
"?"
"Anyway, let us move into the meeting room. There can be time for reunions later. Come."
With that, he stood up and went to another door. The others followed suit and soon found themselves sitting on the chairs that surrounded a round table.
There was silence among the group. Hitomi scanned the place with her green orbs. There were only three windows and each one had a guard beside it. Each guard had a thick armor on. Her eyes glazed over the door that lead in and out of the room. That too had a guard. All in all, the room is pretty much protected.
Her eyes returned to the king. He was smiling at her. She put up a questioning face. But his smile only grew wider.
"Anyway, as you all know, shadows have started appearing in the West Dragon Forest three days ago. We have tried to exterminate them but they were stronger than the usual shadows. That is why I have asked the aid of the shadow warriors though I never thought that Lyon would send his own daughter and son. Tell me, Lady Hitomi, what is going on in the Shadow Hunter Village to push Lyon to do this?"
"Not that much. The village is just a little anxious about the sudden appearances of the shadows. And why he sent my brother and I along, I don't know. He wouldn't tell me the reason."
"Well. if it's Lyon, then there must be a good reason."
"Yes, I believe that too."
"Anyway, Lady Hitomi, I want your team to leave tomorrow morning and eliminate the shadows that have appeared in the West Dragon Forest."
"Of course, your majesty."
When everybody was about to leave, the king asked the leader of the Seven Shadow Warriors to stay behind. Apparently, he had something he wanted to tell her.
Hitomi looked at he group. She nodded and gave them a smile. They went out of the room and Hitomi was left with the king.
There was silence for a while as the two stared at each other. One looking happy while the other one looked confused.
"Lady Hitomi, I want one of my son to go with you on this mission."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yes. I want one of my sons to go with you."
"But your majesty, it's quite dangerous and-"
"I know. I know it's dangerous but, I want him to experience battle."
"But why your majesty?"
"I don't know, I just feel like something is going to happen. I want Van to be able to handle the pressure when that time comes. So please, Lady Hitomi. Grant my request."
". Very well, but I will treat him like my team. Being royalty is not an exception."
" I understand. I'm sure that will help him too."
"All right then, I will be going now. The time for our departure will be at dawn."
With that, Hitomi left the room leaving the king behind. The king looked outside the window. He sighed. He hoped that he was doing the right thing.
He shook his head no; he was doing the right thing. He was training his son so that he will be able to protect himself when the time comes. He closed his eyes. If what Lyon told him has true, then a war would not be far off. And his son was going to be one of the main characters in that play of death.
How was that? Okay! I don't know if Van will be in the next chapter. The explanation on how Goau and Lyon became friends will be in the fifth or the fourth chapter. R and R please.