Well I'm finally back with another chapter.  Sorry for the long wait, but I had to wait till I was on holiday before I could manage this.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this one, so hopefully it's worth it.

Enjoy and remember to REVIEW.

Gazing down at the red orb in his hand, Van could see the event that had doomed him to his fate, as vividly as if he was still 5-years-old.

His brother's failure...

~~~Flashback~~~

"Do you think he did it yet?  I bet he killed twenty."

"Well you'll just have to ask him when he returns, my son."

Varie smiled lovingly down at her young son, who was swinging a discarded tree branch like a sword.  The moment she had finished speaking, the boy stopped and looked very seriously at her.

"Mother...when is Folken coming back?"

"Soon, Van, soon." But even as the words left her lips, Varie was having doubts whether or not her statement was true.  Already her eldest son should have been back.  From what she had heard from her husband, it had never taken this long for anyone to complete the trial of dragon slaying.  Folken was strong and had trained very hard to follow in his father's footsteps.  He just couldn't fail.

Varie shifted her eyes back to the castle gates, forcing herself to stay resolute.  Her son would return.

"Lady Varie."

"Yes Balgus?"  The queen recognized the tall samurai's voice but did not turn to face him.  Her gaze remained fixed on the gates and on her young son, running across the court with his imagined sword.  A small crease formed on her brow as she waited.  "What is it?"

"I have news...of Prince Folken...my lady."

The worried knot in Varie's chest tightened, "What of my son?"

Balgus remarked the calm that had spread across the queen's delicate features as he relayed the devastating news.  Her hands did not shake and there was no quiver in her soft lips.  She stood as commanding as the queen she was, with a softness buried deep in her eyes.  Balgus did not know of any woman as strong as her, that not even a single tear sparkled in her eyes.  He had once thought she was a sorceress for what she was, but now he could see the strength that came of being a descendent of Atlantis, a draconian.  They were a being far superior to any race found on Gaea, or any known world.  He almost started in disbelief when after he finished, she looked at him with a grave smile, somehow filled with hope.

"No," she said simply, reaching up a hand to the sword master's shoulder.  "He is alive...and I must find him."

"But...my queen-"

"Please take care of him," Varie glanced to her youngest son, still scampering around the court, and was filled with a terrible sadness.  A tear trickled down her cheek and she turned back to Balgus.  "Promise me you will take care of him.  Train him as you have done Folken.  Protect him."

"But-"

"Promise me."

Balgus opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated.  Something in the angelic queen's eyes told him she could not be swayed to remain.  He sighed. "What shall I tell him?"

"Tell him what you believe to be the truth.  I know that you can't accept that my eldest son is alive, but I can feel it.  A mother knows."

Balgus watched Varie soar into the air, lifted up by her beautiful snow white wings.  At that moment Van at last noticed the towering warrior and sprang towards him, overjoyed and crying his name. 

"Balgus!  Balgus!  What is it?  Is Folken back?  Where is he?  I don't see him." 

Balgus hesitated to answer but was saved the trouble for the moment when a breeze drifted by, rustling the young boy's hair, dissolving his excitement in an instant.

"Goodbye my son."

The young prince stopped and looked around, confused.  "Where is mother?" he mumbled to himself, load and clear enough for Balgus to hear.  "I don't see her."

"She..."  Balgus began, but the proper words would just not seem to come.  For the first time in his life, he did not know what to say.  He couldn't find the strength to tell a five-year-old child that their older brother had died and that their mother had left them all in one short day.

Instead he raised his eyes to the sky, hoping that the boy would do likewise and perhaps understand.  In the distance he could still see the fluttering of angelic wings, bouncing back the golden rays of the sun.  As Van lifted his head, he too saw his mother flying away from him and tears immediately started spilling uncontrollably from his crimson eyes.

"No," he shook his head fiercely, letting his 'sword' drop from his hand, "NO!!"

Van clenched his fists and giving a slight whimper, a pair of wings, similar to his mother's, sprouted from his back.  His torn red shirt fell to the ground at his sides and he ran forwards, preparing to follow after his mother, but Balgus grasped him strongly by the shoulders.

"No Prince Van," he said steadily.  "You must stay here."

"NO," the boy cried again, wriggling and kicking in the samurai general's tight grip.  "I have to go-she-she can't just-Let me go!"

"Prince-"

"Van..."  The boy stopped struggling in an instant, listening intently to the incoming breeze.  His mother's sweet voice drifted to his ears.  "Van...Be brave...Remember that I will always love you."

"Mother," the raven-haired boy sank to his knees, sobbing as Balgus loosened his grip.  Balgus had not heard Varie's final farewell to her son, but he had felt the gentle gust of wind and could only imagine what had been said.  He placed a hand on the crying boy's head, causing Van to lift his eyes back to the horizon.  Both watched as the last glimmer of Van's mother disappeared forever somewhere in the distance.

~~~End of Flashback~~~

Thinking of that fateful day, Van felt the same stab of pain and betrayal pass over him.  He could still feel Balgus' hands holding him back while he watched helplessly as his mother vanished from his life forever.  He could still hear Balgus' words when he had told him later on that his brother had been killed by the dragon he was meant to slay, that they could not find his body, and that his mother had left him to go and search fruitlessly for him.  He could still picture the tall samurai's calm face when he had relayed the message that Van himself would now be trained to become king.  Trained so he could stand where he was at the moment, holding a drag energist that would prove his right to take up the Fanelian throne.

Van gave a cry and swung a fist into the trunk of a nearby tree, feeling a rush of pain surge up his arm.  He pulled back and glanced over the fist still holding the strange red orb.  He grimaced at his bleeding knuckles through his glove, losing himself in another painful memory.

~~~Flashback~~~

"Has-has she returned, Balgus?"  The stricken king gave a hopeful glance to his friend as he lay almost motionless in his bed.  The meager light from the drawn curtains cast a sickened glow upon the man's pale flesh. A coat of cold sweat lay across his brow, causing his dark hair to cling to his face.

"I am sorry, Lord Goau," said the tall warrior, kneeling at the edge of the King's bed.  "We have still not heard any word of her."

Peering through the doorway of his father's room, Van watched as the king shifted his gaze back to the ceiling, taking a deep breath.  His father had been getting more ill everyday; ever since he had learned of his eldest son's death and his wife's disappearance.  Van had tried to comfort him on many occasions, but most of the time he was not even allowed in the room.  His father wouldn't see anyone but Balgus and the only words that left his lips were questions of his wife's whereabouts.

Van was more or less forgotten in the great big castle.  Everyone was so worried about their king, or searching for the vanished queen that nobody really noticed the little prince was still around.  The only person Van could still count on was Merle.  She was the only family he had left, and she never left his side.

Now she crouched at his feet, licking her hand as Van's unwavering stare remained on his father's face.  Lord Goau was so weak and looked so cheerless that Van felt he had to do something.  He felt that if he could only throw his arms around his father's neck, everything would be alright.  They could both just shrug off all the recent happenings as a horrible nightmare and go on living their lives.

"Tell me Balgus..."

"Yes Majesty?"

Goau once again faced the aging warrior at his side, his crimson eyes clearing of a dreamy haze.  "You have always been a dear friend and advisor to me and...I would ask you to give me your counsel one last time."

Balgus gave a slight bow, "Of course, Lord Goau."

The king's chest rose and fell in another deep breath, "Do you think there is any hope left that Varie will return to my side?"

Van shifted restlessly in the doorway, straining to here Balgus' reply, but no sound made its way to him.  He wasn't sure if he had missed the answer, or if Balgus had even given one.  All he knew next was his father's words.

"Then...If she is not coming back...I must go to her."

~~~End of Flashback~~~

His father had died before his eyes and he, Van, had done nothing to stop it.  He had stood there, watching as the last of his family left the physical world, leaving him to face it all alone.  He was an orphaned prince destined to rule a country he had stopped caring for the moment his brother had failed.

Van had stopped caring for a lot of things after his brother's death, partly because there wasn't anything or anybody left for him to care about, except Merle.  He did what he was told or advised to do, not for his country, not for Balgus, but for the simple fact that it was a purpose for Van to strive for.  It was reason for him to be alive, so he wouldn't feel quite so rejected or angry about being left behind while the rest of his family went on to something better.  Nothing he did was for anything but the pain.

"Van...Are you okay?" asked Hitomi as she hobbled up to the raven-haired boy.  He seemed to be watching the remains of the dragon dissolve into thin air, but there was a glazed, distant look in his eyes.  He didn't seem to notice the blue dragon's blood disappear from his clothing.

"V-"

"It's getting dark," said the dark prince coolly, sheathing his sword. "We better get going."

Hitomi took in Van's hand, silently marveling the red stone clutched tightly at his side as they stepped through the remaining dragon mist, heading in the direction of the forest edge.  Neither of the two spoke and Hitomi couldn't help but wonder what thoughts had been going through Van's mind moments before, or what the strange shining object was in his hand.  However, from the grave look on his face, she did not have the courage to hazard a question or two.

~I wonder what's bothering him...Does it have something to do with that orb thing?  He took it out of the dragon-which is really freaky.  Is it its heart or something?  What does he need it for?  And, I think I remember Van mentioning something about his brother before he killed the dragon.  Could it be him Van's thinking about?~

"Stop Hitomi."

"Uh, uh, what?"

The blond girl crashed into Van as he halted abruptly somewhere in a large field.  Hitomi looked around in slight shock.  She had been so immersed in thought that she hadn't even realized they had left the forest, or that night had fallen.  The trees they had just exited from were black and skeletal looking in the dim light.  The grass was a deep green and all about Van and Hitomi glowed tiny blue lights.

Hitomi gave a shudder, ~I know this place is weird...but since when do stars glow on the ground?~  She almost shrieked as they started moving closer, revealing themselves to be eyes belonging to tall half man, half wolf creatures.

The pack swarmed all around them and Hitomi involuntarily moved closer to Van.  Gripping his arm, she whispered in his ear, "What are they?"

"We are standing on the plains of Arzas, Hitomi," Van made a sweeping motion with his free arm to the wide circle of creatures surrounding them, staring at them eagerly, "And these are its inhabitants."

"What?" squeaked Hitomi, remembering what the dark-haired boy had told her earlier about such people.

She shrank closer to Van as one of the wolf men drew nearer, smiling.  "Out for another late night stroll, highness," he said to Van, smiling at Hitomi in turn, "I see you have a young lady with you this time?  And what is your name?" he asked of the blond girl, who only let out a small yelp and cowered further behind Van.

"This is Hitomi, Ruhm," Van pulled his arm out of Hitomi's grip, "And we could use a ride back to the castle-If you don't mind."

"Course not, Lord Van," grinned Ruhm, "But do you plan on staying in the cart his time, or should I be prepared to let you out at any given time?"

~That's right, laugh it up~ Hitomi stared darkly at the passing landscape, refusing to make any sort of eye contact with Ruhm and Van, who were busy expressing their amusement on her behalf.  The only sounds she could hear were the wolf man's raucous laughter and Van's occasional snorting as he told Ruhm why she had been so terrified of him and his people the night before.

~How was I supposed to know he was lying to me?  Stupid jerk, I should have let the dragon eat him.~

"Come on, Hitomi," Van nudged her in the arm, "Lighten up.  It was only a joke."

"Yeah," she grumbled, finally turning to the prince's smiling face, "And it was hilarious...really.  I can hardly control my laughter."

Ruhm gave another chuckle where he sat holding the reigns of the cart and leaned back to face Hitomi.  "So, your name's Hitomi, right?"

"Uh, uh huh, Hit-Hit-Hitomi K-Kanz-"

"It's okay young lady.  Really, I won't hurt you," said Ruhm, trying to sound comforting.  "His majesty was only kidding when he said we Arzas folk hunt people on our plains."

Van laughed under his breath and turned his head away from Hitomi, still smirking.  The blond girl blushed and suddenly said very clearly, "Yes, my name is Hitomi, Hitomi Kanzaki."

"Well now," said Ruhm, "That's a very strange name.  You must not be from around here.  Where are you from?"

"I'm from...I'm from..."  Hitomi trailed off and Van immediately glanced back.

"Oh, come on.  Just spit it out, Hitomi," he breathed, "Ruhm is not going to hurt you.  I'm sorry I got you scared but it was a joke.  So just get over it."

"I'm not scared!" said Hitomi indignantly, "It's just that I don't know where I am.  And all I remember before bumping into you in the forest was a strange pillar of blue light.  I was sucked up into the sky and brought here-to wherever here is.  That's all I know."

"You found Lady Hitomi in the forest Lord Van?" asked Ruhm, surprised, apparently not having heard Hitomi's mention of the light.

Van shrugged his shoulders indifferently.  "She was running around alone in there like an idiot.  Somebody had to save her before she got herself killed by a dragon."

"Right, of course, well," Ruhm looked appraisingly at Van, speaking cheerfully in Hitomi's direction, "You're very lucky to have found Lord Van in that great big forest, eh Hitomi."

~Oh, he is so full of himself.~  Hitomi glared in disbelief at Van as he sat back against the straw in the cart, his arms folded behind his head, seemingly very content. She had only scarcely heard Ruhm's comment.

~Who does he think he is anyway?  You'd think by the way he's acting, he's some sort of royalty-Wait...Lord Van...Your Majesty?  Is he royalty?~

"Van, are you some kind of member of royalty?"

"Hm?  What? Oh, yeah," he said distractedly, "A prince."

Hitomi's eyes widened, "A prince?"

"Oh and not only that," Ruhm rejoined the conversation, "Soon to be king of all Fanelia.  His coronation ceremony is this very morning.  We are headed there as we speak."

~What?  This boy is going to be king?  Man, I feel sorry for his people.~  Hitomi laughed to herself, looking out the front of the cart as it made its way up the along the path to the castle gates.  'Not too far now,' she heard Ruhm say, 'Just have to get over this hill and you will be able to see Fanelia Castle...'

~Fanelia Castle...I wonder what it looks li-No...No, this isn't right!  This can't be true.  What's happening?  So much fire...and death...People screaming.  What's causing all of this.  What's going on?~

"NOOOO!!!"

"Hitomi!  Hitomi, come on!  Snap out of it."

Hitomi felt herself being shaken hysterically by Van as he tried to wake her up.  She sat bolt upright, wheezing and dizzy from her recent vision.  It had felt so real-like she could have reached out and touched the dying people or the devastated buildings.  She could smell the sweet stench of blood and feel the sweltering heat of the fires all around her-she should hear the screams of the terrified people in her head.

"Wh-what just happened to me?" she said, coming back to reality, sweat dripping from her brow.

"I don't know," said Van softly, trying to hide the fear that had passed over him, "You just-spaced out and started screaming.  What the hell happened?"

"I-don't know.  I guess it was a nightmare, only I wasn't sleeping and it felt-it felt so-so real."

"What was it about?  What happened?"

But Van didn't have to wait for a reply, as the heavy cart came over the hill, he saw Hitomi lose the color in her face once again and knew in an instant, what she had dreamed.  He didn't know how she had known it, but somehow she had...Fanelia was on fire and all Van could hope for was that he too was having a nightmare he could be waken up from.

"Please no..."

"No," Folken paced angrily back and forth in the darkened chamber before the giant viewing screen where Lord Dornkirk's face would be once he managed to summon up the courage to call upon his master. His shoulders were tense beneath his swiveling black cape and his brow was furrowed in deep thought.

"How could he do this?  He was given strict orders that he deliberately disobeyed.  He did this to spite me and I will make him pay for his actions.  He had better have a very good explanation for all of this when he returns."

Willing his usual calm to take control once again, the tall draconian walked up to the three podiums at the center of the room and pushed down the mechanisms that would turn on the viewing screen.

The image of the Zaibach ruler filled the wall before Folken's steely gaze.

"Lord Dornkirk," the draconian bowed his head, "I have news of the slayers'...progress on the attack on Fanelia..."

"BURN-BURN-BURN!!"

Dilandau stood in the midst of the inferno his flamethrower had created, cackling and staring wildly at the devastation he and his slayers were causing.  Fire was everywhere, enveloping the city in dark smoke, polluting the air with ash.  Bodies lay amongst the heaps of broken stone, or falling out of destroyed guymelefs-most of which were the former guard.  The slayers had wiped them out first.  All it took was a few well aimed liquid crima claws.  With the slayers' stealth cloaks making their guymelefs invisible to the naked eyes, the guards hadn't even known what hit them.  They had dropped like flies.

Now, without a good fight, the slayers, Dilandau especially, were contenting themselves by laying waste to the remaining establishments in Fanelia, or picking off the terrified stragglers in the line of people fleeing the city, one by one.  Almost no building, but the shrine housing Escaflowne was left standing.  And once Zaibach got the silver guymelef -the temple would be history.

"Master Dilandau."  The smoke welling up around Alseides parted and something casting a large shadow on the ground drifted into the circle.

The albino captain frowned inside his red guymelef, "What is it Gatti?"

"Chesta and Dalet have secured Escaflowne's shrine, sir, and are preparing to capture it.  However...we are unable to locate the king anywhere."

"That's because he isn't a king yet," said Dilandau viciously over his communicator, "We attacked before the ceremony so you're looking for a weak little prince-DIE!"  Dilandau sent out another wave of crima claws, destroying one of the Fanelian guymelefs struggling to stand.  The pilot gave a shriek before the sound of his screams was covered by garbling blood as three jets of liquid metal pierced through his armor and the soft flesh of his body beneath.  He collapsed into a large pile of broken stone and did not stir again.

The albino captain laughed maniacally and turned his flamethrower on the fallen mecha, turning it to a smoldering heap where it lay.

"Um...y-yes sir," mumbled the blond slayer as he looked on, "In any case, sir, we cannot find him anywhere."

"Who-oh yeah, well he should have been back by now.  Look harder.  He's probably hiding in some corner, wetting himself.  Now stop bothering me,"  Dilandau stopped his flame thrower and let fly another liquid cable at the buildings still daring to stand in such close proximity to the him, "I'm trying to enjoy myself."

"Sir," Gatti gave an affirming nod from his guymelef that Dilandau could not see but knew was there and glided back the way he had come.

No, what the fuck is happening down there?

Van stared in shock and fear as what was to be his country dissolved into a blazing battle field.  His knuckles were white from grasping the edge of the cart rail so tightly.  His head was spinning as the watched the smoke curls and buildings crumble before his eyes.  He didn't know what to do.

Who did this?  What's doing this?

"I have to go," Van jumped up, "I have to help."

Ruhm stared at him, wide-eyed. "But Lord Van, it looks to be already too late."

"No," said Van angrily, "It's not too late.  I have to do something."

"But-"

"They're my people, Ruhm.  I'm not going to sit and watch whoever's left die.  I have to save them."

The wolf man fell silent and his gaze drifted back to the far off city.  He would not look at Van again, which Van took as a sign of dismissal and leapt catlike from the cart.  The moment his feet hit the soft ground, he took off at a break neck speed towards Fanelia.

~What is Van doing?  The place is destroyed.  He's gonna be killed.  What does he think he can do?~

~Nothing.~ A voice answered Hitomi in her mind, ~He knows it's hopeless, but needs to do something.  He feels guilty about leaving his country to be destroyed.~

"I can't believe I'm doing this."  Hitomi got unsteadily to her feet, lifting her bag to her shoulder and, following Van's example, jumped awkwardly from the cart.

Van was rapidly shrinking speck in the distance that told Hitomi she would have to be very fast to catch up to him in time before he reached the castle gates.

The air was getting hotter as Van approached the fiery ruins of his city and the wind carrying the rising black smoke burned his eyes as he sped across the field.  He didn't know what he was going to do once he reached the city.  There hadn't been time to form a proper plan, but Van couldn't let that stop him; he figured-hoped that a good idea would spring to mind once he reached the breached walls.

"Van...WAIT!"  Hitomi had finally caught up to Van as he stopped in front of the walls, debating what to do next.  She dropped her duffle bag on the ground, panting, and looked up at the prince, who was also breathing heavily.

"Don't try...and stop me, Hitomi."  He didn't bother looking at her.

"I'm...I'm not-" Hitomi swallowed, "-going to-uh-stop you.  I'm coming...with you."

"No," said Van, surprisingly calm, "It's too dangerous.  You should have stayed with Ruhm.  But since you're here, you'll just have to wait outside the walls.  I don't want to have to worry about you too-Besides, you're not even armed."

"Oh wow," Hitomi stood, putting her fists on her hips, annoyed, "You have a sword.  So what?  What good do you think a flimsy little piece of metal will do for you when you have great big chunks of building falling on your head?  Admit it.  You're as useless as I am."

Van glowered at her, but Hitomi slung her bag onto her shoulder anyway.

"You're not stopping me," she said coolly.

"Fine," Van huffed and waited for Hitomi to join him at a large gap in the wall.  "Welcome to Fanelia," he mumbled gravely and stepped through the archway of licking flames into the city.

Don't have much to say, 'cept that I hope you guys liked it.  I already have the next chap started so once I get some reviews for this, I'll make an effort to post it.

REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW