Disclaimer: Ha! Do you honestly think they'd let me own Escaflowne with the way I treat the characters? I think not!
Forbearance
Part VIII
By: Penybright
Van shivered as an icy draft whipped through his small cell. He couldn't tell if it was day or night. The only light Van knew was the eternal flickering of the torches outside his door. How long had it been since he had felt the warmth of the sun's rays? Weeks? Months? Perhaps even a year?
Van's sense of time had gone askew the moment he was brought to this hell, his own personal hell. He never saw any other prisoners. He never heard anyone but the guards. It was as if this level of the dungeons was devoted solely to his demise.
The door banged open, signaling the entrance of two guards. Van attempted to cringe away from them, shielding his eyes from the sudden flash of light let into his cell. One of the guards chuckled as he hoisted Van to his feet.
"Trying to get away again?" he mocked, roughly dragging Van out of the cell with the help of the other guard.
Van no longer had to wonder about where they were taking him. He knew with undying certainty where he would end up. He didn't think there was anywhere else he would ever go. As predicted, Van was flung into the questioner's room and left to pick himself up.
Van managed to, somehow, regain his footing and remain standing, leaning heavily against the wall for support. Cautiously, he lifted his gaze from the floor to look into the eyes of the questioner. What he saw reflected in those icy depths was enough to freeze his blood.
"Hello Van Fanel. Today is the day," he said cryptically. Van merely stared at him blankly, knowing that if he asked he would receive no answer.
"It seems that you were the key to our little problem all along. You see, we had a little... chat with the cat-woman. She was able to shed some light on our problem... so to speak."
The questioner paused for effect as Van felt his stomach twist in dread.
"I think it's about time we finished this game, don't you?" he said, advancing towards Van. Without warning, the questioner yanked Van away from the wall forcefully. Van gasped as he felt the sharp metal pierce his flesh. He cried out as the blade twisted in his side before being pulled out.
For a moment, he remained suspended before dropping to the floor clutching his side. Blood oozed freely from the wound, pooling around him. Above Van the questioner's face appeared, eerily illuminated by a sudden flash of bluish white light.
"No..." Van wheezed as delirium began to set in. She was here. It was all over now...
"Van!" Hitomi cried, scrambling to his side. Her green eyes were filled with worry, and he saw the tears beginning to form in them. Van watched helplessly, his limbs leaden and weighed down as he struggled to breathe.
"Van... What happened to you? Why..."
"Please..." Van managed to gasp out breathily. His eyes began to droop closed as Hitomi was wrenched from his vision.
"Let me go! Can't you see he's dying? Do something! Damn it! Let me go!" she shrieked. He could here her screaming at the questioner as he felt himself being lifted off the floor.
"Van!" Hitomi shouted as they carried him out the door. "Van!!!"
"Hi...tomi," Van sighed wearily before his eyes closed and the darkness rushed to meet him with open arms.
"VAN!" Hitomi screamed, her anguished cry echoing through the dreary halls.
~ I must say I like how this part turned out. And no, this is not the last chapter... unless you want me to end it here?