Disclaimer: The Vision of Escaflowne belongs to Studio Sunrise. I own only the Nya'torians, Ayseth of the Fanelian guard, and my own imagination.

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Chapter 11: Emotions

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Adibah looked around the long table, her gaze passing over the adults and children seated and standing anxiously, their eyes glued to the soothsayer. Beside her, Queen Alakana stared intently at her, her amber eyes narrowed, her lips pursed. Adibah pretended not to notice the queen's cold stare, the harsh glares of the seated adults, and the mixed bags of emotions emitting from the faces of those standing. She leaned forward on the table, propping her chin up on folded hands. Her expression was impassive, the dim light in her eyes unreadable. Again she looked around the table, at the clouded faces.

"There is nothing more I can do," the soothsayer said, her voice as emotionless as her face, "except keep watch over them and pray. The rest is up to them. This is their destiny."

Her words were met with silence. Waiting for a response, the soothsayer took her time looking at each face in the room. She looked first to the family of felines nearest to her on the right, the Noir'chattes—Kirra's family. Seated closest to her was Kirra's father, Arjett Noir'chatte, captain of the third division of the royal guard, the knife-throwers. He was clad in the uniform of his division: a scarlet sleeveless tunic edged in thin gold braid, over a tan cotton long-sleeved shirt and matching hose; a thick black leather belt from which dangled numerous tiny knife scabbards; knee-high black leather boots; elbow-length black leather gloves. He had the same thick black fur and dark emerald eyes as his daughter. Seated beside him was his wife, Brunoa. She was a beautiful brown cat with white markings on her face and neck, and eyes the color of the sun. Her brown hair was pulled back in a braid.

Adibah then turned to the Oo'kamis, Urufu's mother and father. Faolan, Urufu's father, was the captain of the second division of the royal guard, also known as the knights. He, too, wore the uniform of his division: a deep blue long-sleeved tunic; tan pants; a thick cord of gold braid tied around his waist, from which hung the thick, curved scabbard of a sabre; knee-high black leather boots; and white gloves. His amber eyes contrasted brightly with his mottled dark gray fur. Next to him, her dark brown eyes clouded with fear and anxiety, was Urufu's mother, Nuala, a white wolf.

Aurelia's father, Mauli Chie'nyne, was the second-in-command of the second division of the royal guard, and wore the same uniform as his captain. But instead of a curved sabre's scabbard, he wore two long, straight scabbards, one on each hip. He was black and white, with reddish-tan markings above his eyes and on his throat, and he had the features and typical markings of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. His dark brown eyes were surprisingly calm, especially when compared to the panic-stricken, darting bright blue eyes of his wife, Sianna. She was red with white markings, with the features of a Siberian Husky.

Sitting in the shadows, at the end of the table, were the Syor'aves' and the Vaye'ocards. Adibah glanced first at Muniya's family, her eyes riveted to her father, Dyami, one of the palace's most powerful sorcerers. His thin black hair was pulled away from his face in a half-ponytail held only by a piece of gold thread; his narrow, slanted eyes were bright, sharp gold, standing out in his ghost-white face. From the folds of his silver and gold tunic emerged a pair of sleek wings the color of a starless night sky. His stark, sharp features were a strong contrast to the soft, smooth features of his wife, Chenoa. Her wings were a pale silvery-white, a few shades darker than her skin. Her hair was silver and fell over her shoulders and down her back like a silvery waterfall. Her eyes were the color of her husband's wings, as black as the midnight sky.

Opposite the table from the Syor'aves' were Nyoka's parents. His father, Ryu, was the captain of the fifth division of the royal guard, the yeomen. His skin was dark brown, with thick black stripes that streaked down his cheeks. His slanted eyes were the color of sunlit topaz, and his hair was as thick, black and messy as his son's. He wore the uniform of the fifth division: a long-sleeved tan tunic over brown leather pants and boots, a brown leather belt, and a leather baldric with which to carry his quiver of arrows. Seated beside him was his wife, Secoya. Her skin was much paler than her husband's, and tinted blue. The thick stripes on her cheeks were dark green, the same color as her eyes. Her hair fell around her face in soft, holly-red curls.

Adibah rubbed her aching temples tiredly and turned her attention away from the adults. Standing against the walls were the younger siblings of the Destined Ones: Kirra's brother, Donagh; Urufu's twin brothers, Cheveyo and Faris; Aurelia's sister, Tahmore; Muniya's two twin sisters, Luyu and Kalandra, and her brother, Tuari; and Nyoka's two sisters, Vaschel and Akamu. All wore similar looks of fear, panic and nervousness, and some were trembling in place. Adibah felt her heart wrench. The parents she could handle with ease; working with worried adults was something she had much experience in. But if there was one thing she could not bear, it was fright in a child's eyes. The fear and worry of these children sliced through her heart in a way the glares of the adults could not, and she realized just in how much danger the Destined Ones were.

Not sure what else to do, the soothsayer repeated wearily, "There is nothing more I can do except keep vigil over them and pray. I'm sorry." She shook her head, careful not to look at the children, lest her wavering barriers break. "This is destiny's will; I can only do its bidding."

At that, Arjett Noir'chatte rose to his feet, bringing his gloved fist down hard on the marbletop table. "Destiny, destiny, destiny!" he roared, in a voice like a mighty lion's. "I am sick and tired of hearing about this 'destiny' that ordains I send my only daughter off to a foreign world—and not just any foreign world, but a world that is currently under the threat of the greatest evil known! Are you mad? She should not be off wandering the forests of an unknown place. She should be here, in the palace, training to become a knife-thrower, training for the day she shall join the third division."

Adibah ground her jaw and pursed her lips. That his daughter joins the third division—is that all this idiot cares about? she wondered, her temper slowly rising. Would he truly prefer that someone else's daughter takes the honor and glory of defeating the Kalryn's Devil, as long as his own daughter joins the third division? Fool!

"You act as though you are the only one whose child is off on another world, Noir'chatte," Faolan Oo'kami growled, his hackles rising.

Arjett turned to him, his ears flattened. "She is my heir. Do you think I don't have the right to complain about my heir being sent off to another world?" He turned to Adibah. "Is this the will of this destiny you speak of, or simply the decision of a crazy old woman?"

His wife, Brunoa, gasped in horror. But Adibah merely gazed at the bold feline disapprovingly. When she spoke, her voice was sharp as ice. "My lord, do you think that, had I a choice, I would have sent any of these children off to Gaea to fight the Kalryn's Devil? Do you think, my lord, that I am that wicked a character?" She cocked one eyebrow in a silent challenge.

"This is ridiculous, not to mention very dangerous," Arjett protested, unconsciously accepting the seer's challenge. "They are merely children! I don't care if this is what 'destiny' wants—you should have sent more experienced fighters, soothsayer!"

"Do you not have faith in your own daughter's skill, Lord Noir'chatte?" Dyami Syor'aves said quietly, his deep voice rumbling softly like distant thunder. "Is it not true that she is the best knife-thrower among the trainees—better, perhaps, than some of your own men, my lord?" His face remained impassive, but his eyes held a deeper, darker glow.

Arjett growled. "You only don't complain because your daughter is a psychic, not to mention she can fly!" he snapped, then turned to the Vayo'cards. "And you do not complain because your son is a deadly poisonous reptile! You have no right to say anything. If any of our children are in greatest danger—"

"It is our children, for they are not swordsmen or knife-throwers," Ryu Vayo'card interjected, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth, breaking his speech into spitty segments. "My son is merely an archer, and although he may be quick and poisonous, there are some creatures against which agility and arrows do nothing. Dyami's daughter is a psychic, yes, and she can fly, yes, but she is not a swordswoman, nor a knife-thrower. What weapons does she have besides her own psychic abilities? Perhaps you should think of who else is present in this room before you open your mouth and start complaining, Lord Noir'chatte."

"I have faith in my daughter's abilities; that is why I do not worry," Dyami said, his large eyes fixed on Arjett. "Can you say the same of your daughter?"

"They have a point, my lord," Mauli Chie'nyne said, scratching the top of his head between his ears. "Our children—meaning your daughter, my daughter, and Faolan's son—are more likely to survive in certain situations than are Dyami's daughter and Ryu's son. Besides," he added, "it sounds as though the only thing you care about is whether or not your daughter survives to make it to the third division of the royal guard." He tilted his head. "Is that the only thing that matters to you, Noir'chatte? Isn't your daughter's life more important than the reputation of your family name?"

Arjett let out a very dangerous hiss. "Why you—"

"Lord Noir'chatte, take your seat!" Queen Alakana roared, her eyes flashing furiously and as brightly as the crown atop her head. But unlike her crown, which shimmered with brilliant gemstones, her eyes shimmered with angry sparks of lightning that threatened to jump out of her eyes to scorch whatever was in front of her. She glowered at black male cat, who had slowly taken his seat. "This is utterly ridiculous! Never would I have expected such immaturity and scandelous behavior from the captain of the third division of my royal guard. Your actions are uncalled for, my lord, and your treatment of your peers is beyond disrespect."

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Arjett said stiffly, his face red underneath his thick face fur. His wife, Brunoa, was blushing furiously, the red tinge to her cheeks more apparent, as her face fur was mostly white. She stared at her lap, carefully not meeting her husband's eyes.

"Your Majesty, if I have leave to speak?" Adibah said, turning to the queen, who was still fuming.

"Go ahead, Adibah," Alakana said shortly, waving her hand. Her fierce glare was still fixed to the now fidgeting Arjett.

Adibah smiled and turned to the black male cat. "You would be pleased and proud to know, my lord Noir'chatte, that your daughter has accepted leadership of their little troupé." At those words, Arjett lifted his eyes from the table, which he had been staring at, to look curiously at the soothsayer. Adibah continued, "This is a greater responsibility than one might think, for there have been many more additions to their party than merely the Royal Draconian and the Mystical Seeress. The Draconian and Seeress, it seems, have many, many friends who have decided to join them—in fact, an entire leviship's worth." Her smile broadened. "She has taken this responsibility quite well, especially considering the obstacles they have already been forced to surpass. You should be quite proud of her, my lord."

Arjett said nothing, but the fierce look in his eyes slowly softened, and he looked almost apologetic. Still smiling, Adibah bent down and reached underneath the table, and brought out a giant crystal globe, much larger than the one she normally used. She looked around the table, her smile stretching to her weary eyes.

"My lords, my ladies, children." She nodded to the young ones who were still trembling in place. "Would any of you like to see what your children, your siblings, are doing at this very moment?" She gestured to the crystal ball, which had slowly began to glow. There was the scratching of chairs being pushed against the wooden floorboards, and the rustle of cloth, as everyone crowded around the soothsayer's globe.

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So I didn't manage to update within a month. But I'm not going to make any excuse this time. I'm a busy person—and that's all there is to it. Not to mention, this is not the only fan-fiction I'm working on right now. And there are some things in my life that are more important and urgent than updating a fan-fiction. I'm doing the best I can. That's all I can say.

dreamingofflyingaway: Fancy each other? Perhaps they do… *grins mysteriously*