A Ring, A Key and a Vow: Two
An Escaflowne TV series fanfic

Timeline: End of series, continuing past the way too short episode 26.

The fist came from nowhere, and did not miss.

"Long time no see!" a little lady guffawed in delight as Dryden winced. "Did you miss your nana?"

At that comment, Dryden chuckled for there could be no other response. Nana – the name by which he had always referred to his father's mother -- may have lived many moons, but she certainly didn't act like any old wizened lady as society would have dictated.

For her benefit, he rubbed his stomach, feigning pain. It was the game they always played – knowing full well that he had never been in any danger of being harmed; after all, she was not only well past her sixth decade, but would dare not harm her only male grandson and heir to the vast fortunes of the Fassa merchant fleet. "Not when you punch like that!"

"Hmph. Still have a smart mouth, don't you?" Nana looked up at him fondly, "Looks like your hot-headed wife hasn't cured you of that."

Dryden winced at the description. Poor Millerna would be mortified to think that his own family thought her a bit of a shrew.

As they walked ahead away from the clearing that had served as his ship's landing area, Dryden quickly lifted his eyes and admired the tall spire of his family estate. Or rather – technically speaking – the spire of this estate, the first of many family estates.

"I see you're thinking what I'm thinking," she chuckled as she also shaded her eyes to look up. "Shall we go up and have a look?"

It was she who moved through the door and climbed the fastest up the stairs to the highest tower in the manse. That he was so slow did not bother him; it gave him a wonderful view of Asturia, and on a clear day, even beyond that. As he stared back in the direction of Palas, he wondered what the golden haired princess was doing now. Normally, at this time, Dryden and Millerna would be taking reports from the various Knights and stewards around the palace.

"I thought perhaps you would have changed somewhat, my boy." Nana finally broke the silence. "But marriage to a princess really hasn't made you into a respectable man!" She managed to reach up to teasingly poke his odd glasses and tweak his hair. "What a ruffian!"

Dryden shrugged, "No one ever seems to bother me much about that, Nana. Despite what you think, Millerna never once bothered me about how I look."

"Finally!" Nana looked annoyed. "Here I am fishing for news about your wife, waiting for you to mention her name and you are being deliberately obtuse!! How is your lovely princess?"

Dryden scratched his rough chin.

"I see," Nana was giving him a knowing look. "No mention of the princess means that you're here because of the princess. Come and tell me, why are you here? Did you make her angry and come here to hide while she cooled off?"

He looked up at the ceiling of the room that stood at the top of the tower. "No."

Nana was not deterred. "Did she decide to take over the throne and rule by herself?"

"No!" Dryden grew a bit irritated. "She's not like that at all. She did not ask me to leave, or make me leave."

"Then--?"

He drummed his fingers on the balcony rail and took a deep breath before admitting to doing the most illogical thing any Fassa could have done. "I've left her."

Nana's eyes widened for a moment, before she turned her head to stare out in the direction of Palas.

From out of the corner of his eye, Dryden glanced at her. While her face was stoic, he could see the slight slump of her shoulders that told him, that she was disappointed.

"You won her, grew tired of her and left just like you leave all women in your life? Or is there some reason for this madness?"

Dryden shook his head, knowing that his past condemned him to at least this suspicion. "I'm not that terrible Nana. Millerna -- " he found himself for once feeling his words were awkward and inadequate, " -- Is the most beautiful thing in my life, but she doesn't love me. I'm not one to force her to live in a lie of a marriage, Nana. I can't look at marriage as a business proposition. I'm not my father."

"Thank goodness for that," Nana gave a sharp laugh, "And since Meiden is my son , I can say that without any fear of reprisal.You know I suspected when I saw you get off the ship without a ring on your hand." She picked up Dryden's bare hand and patted it. "Have you resolved to be done with her, then?"

Dryden shook his head. "I still want her, but I can't have her withering away. I left herm to be free to choose." A sad look crossed his grandmother's face – at that, he flashed her one of his carefree smiles. "And I intend to be her choice."

At his cockiness, Nana smiled. "That's my boy. Although I think you are sometimes an impetuous fool, Dryden, you are a kind one at that. And even though your competition is none other than the formidable Allen Schezar, I do not think all is yet lost."

"Allen… Schezar?" At the mention of his rival for Millerna's affections, Dryden looked a bit out of sorts. "How did you know? Did father tell you? Does he know?"

"Your father, like all those court ninnies are a clueless sort who wouldn't be able to construct any sort of reasonable guess as to the hearts of their own people. I know from reading you , Dryden, and from the circumstances surrounding your meeting with the Crusade and Millerna months ago. I also know the reputation of our dear Knight. In fact, if I were about forty years younger myself I'd --"

Dryden felt his mood sour further. Was there any woman who didn't think Allen Schezar was a gift to womankind? "Despite the fact that Millerna is in love with him, I actually do still like the Knight. Don't ruin that by extolling him further!"

His expression begged her to be serious. "Nana. I know you think I was foolish to leave, and I don't mean to place her in danger of court of gossip. I just thought to give her some happiness before the world destroys itself in battle. And if we live beyond this battle ­ I fully intend to win her heart."

"My kind boy, there is no need to worry about gossip. Allen Schezar has gone too to the battlefield, leaving Palas and the Princess behind. That leaves you to do whatever pleases you at the moment." She slapped him on the back for good measure. "So -- where does this mean Dryden Fassa goes to next?"

Dryden thought back to the words he had uttered to the woman he loved. "I'm off to make myself a better man, to live as everyone else does, to stop being one who lives cut off from the world.

His grandmother laughed. He could tell by her expression that she thought he was again spouting romantic fancies. She was too familiar with the incident with the mermaid and how he had gone off in a hurry to buy and free the poor beautiful creature from a rather greedy merchant. She wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes before catching her breath to speak. "It never fails to amuse me how in the light of so much going wrong that you manage to make everything sound optimistic and happy."

Dryden shrugged. "Would you prefer that I mope around here?"

"Of course not," she smiled. "But regardless -- it's not my place to tell you how to find your way, my dear grandson.. So if that is what you have set your heart upon, then so be it. But remember that time does not wait for those who wait for something else."

"I understand." Dryden nodded at her words, which painfully echoed Millerna's last words to him. She had told him that she, like time, would not be guaranteed to wait.

"But one warning, grandson" Nana seemed to grow taller in his presence as her voice grew stern. "You're used to romantic notions of love and marriage constantly discussed in your many books. Find the real key to love, and when you do, make sure to hurry back."

As she watched his mouth flap, Millerna realized that Lord Furun was starting to get on her nerves.

She and Eries had sat patiently in their seats for several minutes and listened to the elderly noble man rant. They tolerated it thus far, out of deference to his friendship to their father. But with a battle nearly a stone's throw away and with so much of Palas worried about the outcome, the concerns of another landowner seemed trivial.

"… the fire damages to the properties under my ownership was quite extensive and I fear that without the assistance of the royal treasury, that restoration cannot be achieved… your father had agreed to assist his lord holders in such matters and it is under this agreement I beg your assistance."

Millerna rubbed her nose in annoyance. It was well known that Furun's properties were poorly constructed and as a result, had gone up like tinder in a furnace during the Zaibach attack. The royal treasury had already been used to procure all the raw materials to restore the property, even better than its prior condition, and to also house and feed those who were displaced in the attack. Furun was arguing for funds for material goods 'lost' in the fire, goods she knew were in fact worth only a small percentage of what he was petitioning for.

Dryden would have argued with the Lord by pointing out his even greater losses, but Dryden was not here. Millerna sighed. "Lord Furun. I must beg for your patience a bit longer, as war continues and we deal with that aftermath as well. I do not mean to belittle your request, but please enumerate the items lost and their value and have your own manager submit that document to the treasurer. We will redress that shortly after we are able to turn our focus away from the ongoing fighting."

Both Eries and Millerna saw the spark of irritation on the elder man's face, but Millerna calmed her desire to either lecture him or to give in. She knew Furun was well-funded and that he was one of the few lords in Asturia whose own coffers grew fat while others lived a less luxurious life. She doubted very much he had lost anything of his own value in those fires, and that the only real losses were to those who had been unfortunate to live in his own holdings. And she also knew his financial manager was much more scrupulous and would not dare submit anything frivolous to the treasurer. This would, she hoped, effectively squelch his request.

Lord Furun looked as if he might have continued on, perhaps provoking her with more "ideas as to what her father would have done."

"Your Highness—" Eries voice finally cut in.

"Yes," Millerna spoke, somewhat relieved by the interruption.

Eries was standing, pointing out the window at a bright column of light emanating from beyond the distant mountains.

All three – Eries, Millerna and Lord Furun -- stood transfixed by the ominous glow in the distance. It had to be coming from the battlefield.

Millerna composed herself. "Lord Furun, my apologies, but we must continue later."

Furun bowed frostily and withdrew as Millerna summoned a page. "Go ­ seek out all Knight Caeli in residence and find out the meaning of this light." The page nodded , clearly frightened by the seriousness of her tone and by the impressiveness of the light show in the distance.

When he left, Millerna looked again out the window, and knew that whatever it was, that Van, Hitomi and Allen were squarely in the center of it.

And Dryden? She hoped that in accord for his own distaste for war, that he was far far away.