AN: Hi everyone. I know this update took forever. I kind of went on a writing spree with my other fic and I didn't want to stop, but now people are complaining, so I'm returning to this fic, although to be honest, I kind of forgot where I was going with this so forgive me if this chapter is bad. I'll do my best. I've been really busy lately with…stuff…*cough* school *cough* so updates will come less often for both my stories. Oh, just in case you didn't already know, I wrote a one shot, and I really like it so when you're done reading this chapter, read my other fic, "Operation: Golden Rule of Love Re-written." I bet you can guess what it's about!!!

Those of you who are Dilandau fans (DIMB being one of them!!! ^_~  ) You should all be very happy because he makes a special appearance in this chapter!!! I hope I portray him the right way. I don't want him to be too violent, that's just boring. I'm adding a little something new, which will be explained in later chapters to come. Yup yup!!!

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Escaflowne, so stop asking me!!!

Chapter Twelve: Was It A Dream?

Everything around Merle gave off a sense of foreboding. The night sky above her was clear, but thick clouds could be seen, making there way over to Fanelia like an army ready to invade. The Mystic moon continued to glow its eerie light, some of its rays penetrating the leaves on the tree that hovered over Merle and Celina. Everything about the situation would make anyone nervous, but Merle couldn't help but wonder if it was something else that was eating at her. Oh sure, the fact that she was about to encounter a crazed pyromaniac in the middle of the night, away from any other people, quite alone where no one could see you was indeed unnerving, but for some reason, Merle almost sensed that something else was a miss. But she had no idea what it was.

"Are you sure you're up to this Merle?" Celina asked calmly. "I'm not sure how Dilandau will react to all this."

"Don't worry, I'll handle him. Besides, it's worth the risk if I get to find out something juicy on that Calypso woman." Merle retorted, her claws clenching at the thought. "Let's just get it over with."

Slightly relieved by the cat-girl's confidence, Celina took a deep breath and muttered to herself. "Here we go…" Celina's mind and body relaxed as she allowed the second voice to take over. It felt almost like falling asleep, but she dared not to let go completely. While she allowed Dilandau to take over her body, she fought to stay aware of what was going on. She couldn't exactly read his thoughts, but she could sense some of his feelings. If he grew too hostile, she would take control again…or at least try.

Merle watched in awe as Celina closed her eyes and her body began to subtly change, bit by bit. Her hair turned paler and her demeanor changed to that of someone who was rather cocky. At last, her face turned slightly white and thinner and then she opened her eyes, but she was no longer a she. Instead of seeing a pair of bright blue eyes, fiery red eyes stared back at Merle. This person standing before her was no longer Celina Shezare, but Dilandau Abatou.

Dilandau smiled at the cat-girl who wasn't aware that her mouth was hanging open. "Good evening, little Merle." He smirked.

"I am not little!" Merle yelled without realizing it.

Dilandau raised an eyebrow. "Well, you certainly have changed since the last time I saw you. I almost killed you then." He said with a slight bit of amusement in his voice.

"No, you're wrong. Hitomi pushed me out of the way. She was the one you almost killed."

Dilandau's eyes flashed. "Yes, that's right…I remember…" he let out a laugh that seemed to echo through the trees. "Those were the good old days."

Instinctively, Dilandau reached his hand to his hip and pulled out Celina's sword. Merle stiffened, realizing too late that Celina should have removed her weapons before they started on her little experiment. Despite the fact that Dilandau wasn't facing Merle, he still felt her anxiety.

"Don't worry, little girl, I'm not going to hurt you." Dilandau sliced at an invisible foe several times, listening to the swooshing noises of the air. After admiring the glistening shine of the blade for a moment, he returned his sword to its sheath. "So, what is it you and Celina wanted to ask me?"

"We wanted to know…wait a minute, how did you know that's what we wanted…"

Dilandau whirled around. "Don't ask stupid questions!" he snapped. "You're wasting my time."

Merle jumped backwards slightly, realizing that she was still afraid of the pyro.

'Come on Merle, get a grip on yourself. The sooner you ask him the question, the sooner you get an answer, and then he'll be gone.'

"What can you tell us about Calypso?"

"Ah, the infamous Calypso, eh?" Dilandau looked thoughtful. "Well, I can tell you one thing for sure, she's no ordinary human. There's something weird about her, something not quite right."

"Well, even I knew that woman was weird, but what do you mean she's no ordinary human?"

"I meant what I said!" he snapped. "I sensed something while I was around her."

"What? What did you sense?"

Dilandau ignored Merle's question and began searching the grassy floor. He found a palm-sized stone to his right and bent over to pick it up.

"What did you sense?" Merle repeated, a little louder this time.

Again, he ignored her. Instead, he took out a dagger from its sheath on his leg and tossed it into the air, catching it by its hilt easily. He did this three or four times before stopping to sharpen the blade with the stone, and then tossed it into the air again.

Merle was all too aware that Dilandau was toying with her, which only made her angrier.

"Just give me an answer Dilandau!" Merle snapped.

Dilandau stopped and widened his eyes. "Well well, the little girl does have a voice. However," he took a threatening step towards Merle which made her cower slightly. "She had better learn how to say my name with respect." Dilandau sighed heavily, starting to grow a little tired of the cat-girl. "Calypso has some sort of magical aura around her, kind of like Van's. All those other women who were with her also had that same aura, but theirs wasn't as strong."

Finally, Merle received the answer to her question.

'So, Calypso has an aura. That can only mean she's got magical powers too. I've got to warn Lord Van!'

Merle looked directly into Dilandau's fiery eyes. "Okay Celina, I'm done now!" she yelled.

Dilandau grinned. "Oh come on, can't I play a little longer?"

Almost a second later, the fiery red eyes became a shade of deep ocean blue. Merle exhaled a sigh of relief, quickly recovered, then jumped to her feet and ran to Celina's face.

"About time you came back!" she yelled. "That guy is crazy. He still creeps me out." Merle shivered.

"Sorry about that." Celina looked down at her hand and realized that her side dagger was unsheathed and in her fist. Her heart gave a sudden jolt. "He didn't try anything, did he?"

Merle folded her arms. "No, he was just playing around."

"Oh, good." She may have sounded relieved but she was still troubled by the fact that she hadn't even sensed that happening.

'I need to find a way to keep a better eye out on Dilandau when he's out and about.'

Celina sheathed her dagger. "So what did he say about Calypso?"

Merle dove right in, seeing no way how to break the news easy. "She and everybody else from Circe have some sort of magical power that they're hiding."

"What!?"

"Yeah, Dilandau could sense their aura."

"That is not good. If they've got magical powers, Van is in serious danger!"

                                                * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Phoebe sat alone in her room, still as a statue yet filled with anxiety. She could feel it. Calypso's magic. Its scent was everywhere, distinct to only those who knew how to cast it. The spell of absolute control which Van was being subject to.

It would be over soon. It doesn't take long for men to succumb to the song. Phoebe could already feel the initiation spell wear off. By now, Van was completely under Calypso's control. Nothing could save him now…except her.

Phoebe stood, crossed to the other end of the room, and examined herself in the mirror. A beautiful yet worried woman stared back at her. She reached up and clutched a necklace that was hidden underneath her nightgown. She watched as her reflection did the same.

'I've done everything in my power to prevent Circe from getting this, but now that Calypso has Van under her control, she has easily found another one for herself. All my years of fighting and lying have been in vain.'

A faint glowing began to come from within her hand. She withdrew it, pulled the necklace off of her, and held it before her eyes. The light from the small pinkish gem cast shadows on the woman's face. She shut her eye lids and cleared her mind of all unnecessary thoughts.

'What will my next course of action be?'

                                                * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Hitomi walked without knowing where she was going. Everything around her seemed familiar, yet she had never been here before. Something was willing her to keep going.

As she pressed forward, small dust clouds rose around her feet with the occasional rock being kicked out of the way. She stopped. Before her lie a great precipice where night seemed to devour all life.

Footsteps. Hitomi turned around and saw a dark figure emerge from the shadows. As it came closer, the figure began to take shape.

'Calypso? What are you doing here?'

Still approaching Hitomi, Calypso's mouth opened to speak but it wasn't her voice that escaped her lips.

"Hitomi, run away."

It was Van's voice. Hitomi then realized that Calypso's eyes were not her own either. They were crimson red. Van's eyes.

'Van? What's going on?'

Calypso reached her hand towards Hitomi's face. Again, she spoke in monotone.

"Run, Hitomi. Run away."

'But why?'

Calypso's hand grabbed a hold of Hitomi's neck and squeezed, like the grip of a vice, a triumphant smile on her face. As soon as her hand made contact with Hitomi's skin, Calypso's body transfigured itself into Van's, a look of overwhelming sorrow on his face.

"Why didn't you run?"

Hitomi felt the ground fall away from her feet as Van lifted her into the air.

'Why…' Hitomi choked.

"I can't help it."

Van held Hitomi's form over the edge of the cliff. In an instant, Hitomi realized what Van was about to do. Desperately, she tried to tell him to stop, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was a strangled cry.

All at once, Van released his iron grip and Hitomi fell into the sea of black, Calypso's laughter ringing in her ears…

"Stop!"

Hitomi awoke with a start, covered in perspiration, and clutching at her bed sheets. Her eyes darted around the room as she fought to gain control of her breathing. Everything in the room seemed as if it were in its right place.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Hitomi swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood. She walked over to her dresser, which now contained all of her belongings, and grabbed a hand towel. She then sat down at her vanity desk and watched as her reflection began soaking up the perspiration with the towel.

Then, from the corner of the mirror, Hitomi spotted movement. Although all the windows and doors were shut, the white cloth that draped over a small table was moving slightly, as if there were a breeze. Just beneath the hem of the cloth was a small, fuzzy paw.

Sighing deeply, Hitomi stood and approached the table. Falling to her knees, she grabbed the bottom of the cloth and pulled it up revealing what was under the table.

"Merle!"

Quick as lightening, the cat girl darted from her hiding spot and sat four legged in the middle of the room looking pure and innocent.

"I didn't do it!"

"You didn't do what?" Hitomi asked, eyebrows raised.

"I don't know."

Hitomi gave a hollow laugh. "Why are you here?"

"I'm bored." She sighed.

"Why don't you go and trample Van? You never get tired of that."

"I can't. He hasn't come out of his room yet."

This struck Hitomi as slightly suspicious.

'That's odd. Van's always been an early riser. Maybe he was just tired.'

Merle ran around Hitomi once and then jumped onto her bed.

"You were talking in your sleep again." She said in a sing-song voice.

Hitomi blushed in embarrassment. "I did? What did I say?"

"You were mostly mumbling 'Why' over and over again. In the end, you screamed 'Stop' and then you woke up."

"That's it?"

"Yup. So, what were you dreaming about?"

Hitomi tried to remember everything that had happened, but the details were slipping away.

"I don't remember much. It was nighttime and I was standing at the edge of a cliff and…" Hitomi broke off, trying to recall what came next.

"And?" Merle persisted.

"…and then somehow Calypso appeared…no wait, it was Van…or maybe both. I'm not sure."

"Not sure? How can you not tell the difference between them? They're complete opposites."

Hitomi laughed at Merle's little joke.

"Come on, let's go and wake Van up. I'm sure he'll be upset if he realizes he's slept in this long." Hitomi said while grabbing a robe and putting it on.

"We can't"

"Why not?"

A pause. "Calypso's in there." She said without looking up.

Hitomi's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, I see."

'Calypso caught up with Van faster than I thought she would.'

Hitomi began to feel a familiar pang in her heart, a feeling which she had grown accustom too in the past 48 hours. It was hard, being in love with a man who was married to another woman. The guilt of not getting to Gaea sooner, before the wedding, grew with each passing moment. Already, she was beginning to wonder how this relationship was going to work.

Merle cast a furtive look at Hitomi's face and saw doubt written all over it. Scowling, Merle jumped off the bed and stormed up to Hitomi.

"Oh no you don't! Don't you dare start doubting now. Van and I worked way too hard to get you here in the first place."

"I know but…"

"No butt's!"

"But Merle…"

"No excuses!" Merle shouted. "I don't care what that sniveling Calypso woman does. She can't turn Van away from you. Van loves you, only you, and he's going to love you until the day he dies. And even then he'll still love you. So deal with it!"

Even though Hitomi suspected that all of Fanelia heard Merle's outburst, she appreciated it all the same. Once again she was smiling.

"Thanks Merle."

Merle turned her back to Hitomi and crossed her arms. "Why are you thanking me? I didn't do anything except state the obvious." She looked back at Hitomi and winked.

"Alright then, how about we both go down to the dinning hall for some breakfast? Maybe by the time we finish, Van will be out of bed."

Merle's eyes were alight as soon as Hitomi mentioned food.

"Okay!"

                                                * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

'This has to be a dream. I've just got to be dreaming.'

But it wasn't a dream. Van lay on his bed, eyes open, yet paralyzed. He had thought that Calypso was still asleep when he tried to sneak out of bed, but she wasn't. She stopped him from leaving with a single word.

"Stay"

Immedietly, Van's body complied and he lay back down. Calypso slept on while Van stayed awake, staring at the ceiling for almost three hours now.

'I can't move. What did she do to me?'

As if to answer his question, Calypso sat up from her side of the bed and turned her head to look at Van.

"I told you already. I put a spell on you."

Van's mind screamed out loud. 'Why?!'

"Because we need you."

'Who's we?'

"My country, Circe. We need you for the things your country has, and for something you have. Speaking of which…" Calypso moved over to Van's side of the bed and leaned over him slightly. "…I'm going to borrow this for a while." Calypso placed her fingers on the pendant that rested on Van's chest.

'Get your filthy hands off of it!'

Calypso smiled maliciously as she reached behind Van's neck to unclasp the pendant.

"Is that any way to speak to your wife?"

'You are not my wife!'

Calypso ignored Van's comment and brought the pendant around her own neck, still smiling as she felt Van's contempt for her.

"Thanks for the wedding present Van." She caressed the pendant delicately with her finger tips.

Van fought the restraints of her magic, trying to reach up and rip the pendant off her neck. But his fruitless attempts didn't grant him so much as a twitch of a finger. Inside him, Van wished to punch hi fist through something, anything to vent his anger and frustration, but he remained still and motionless.

Calypso could see what was going on inside Van's mind. He was putting up a terrific fight, and although she didn't show it, she was having a slight difficulty controlling him. It took an abnormally larger amount of energy to subdue him. True, she had not expected Van to have such a well disciplined and aware mind. Most men who were put under her spell don' even realize they are bewitched. But not only did Van immediately recognize that he couldn't control himself, but he was fighting her spell as well. Indeed, Calypso couldn't help but feel a slight sense of respect and admiration towards Van.

Calypso averted her gaze towards the bedroom door.

"Enter."

Van heard the door open and close but he didn't remember hearing anyone knocking.

"You summoned me, my Queen."

A woman's voice. It sounded familiar.

The newcomer must have gestured towards Van because Calypso responded saying, "Don't worry, Phoebe. The Voice has him."

'Phoebe?'

Calypso heard Van's mental outburst and shot a questioning glare at Phoebe.

"You two have met?"

Knowing full well that Calypso could sense when people lied, Phoebe told the truth, just not the whole truth. However, it was enough to satisfy the new Queen.

"We met briefly after the wedding."

Now that Calypso's full attention was distracted, Van was free to think without fear of her overhearing. 'I don't understand, this doesn't make sense. If Phoebe is working for Calypso, why did she help me earlier?'

"Interesting. Phoebe, I'm placing you in charge of keeping watch over the seeress. I don't want her poking around and getting in the way of our plans."

"Does she know something already, your majesty?"

"No, but she's a seeress. It's likely she's already had a vision of the future, even though she may not know it yet."

"I understand."

"You may go."

The bedroom door whined slightly when Phoebe left the room. Once again, Calypso's full attention was on Van. He took this opportunity to try and get some answers form the woman.

"What is Phoebe going to do to Hitomi?" As important as that question was, Van gasped when he realized he had said the question out loud. In one swift motion, Van dashed off the bed, grabbed his sword that was leaning against his bedside table, and unsheathed it. He was prepared to slice the woman's head off at the first sign of trickery. Calypso, however, merely laughed at Van's deadly glare.

"You're such a dupe. Drop it."

Van's hand relaxed and the sword fell to the floor with a clatter. He looked at his hand and flexed it. He hadn't let go of his sword. His hand had responded to Calypso's command.

"I'm not going to release control of you that easily. I just thought it would be easier to have a conversation this way. So don't try anything or I'll be forced to hurt you."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You're not? Well you should be. You should be afraid of what will happen to your precious seeress if you try something like that again."

"Don't you dare touch her!"

"I won't have to. I could order one of my servants to do it for me." Calypso smiled maliciously as a new thought came to mind. "I could even make you do it for me. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Now Van realized what a dangerous situation he was in. Not only dangerous for him, but for Hitomi and his county as well every one who was close to him, anyone in Fanelia was in danger as long as Van couldn't control himself. Endless scenarios flew through Van's mind: Calypso forcing Van to declare war against allied countries, oppressing the Fanelian people into submission, removing the law that makes humans and human-animals were equals. Every scenarios lead to the same result: Chaos and suffering. Van couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let that happen.

Calypso could almost see the wheels turning in Van's head as he understood the impact her words had on him. "So, are you going to behave? I want an answer."

"Yes." He said shortly through gritted teeth.

"Good." Calypso smiled.

"What are you going to do with Hitomi?"

"Nothing, for now. As long as she stays out of my way, I'll let her live."

"What about Fanelia?"

Calypso climbed out of bed and walked over to a closet. She slid open the door and pulled out a robe. "I think it's about time we started planning our honeymoon."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think a nice romantic trip to Dragon's Canyon would be nice. What do you think?"

Van looked utterly confused. He knew there was a hidden meaning to her words, but he couldn't figure it out. What was the significance of Dragon's Canyon? It was a dragon graveyard, far from what he would call romantic. It didn't make sense.

"I don't get it. What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Van, as the right question. Use your head. Think."

She wanted Van to know part of her plan, but she wasn't going to just tell him. She wanted him to figure it out for himself. She already gave him enough clues to make a rudimentary guess.

Van didn't like being toyed with like he was, but there wasn't much he could do about it. All he could do was play her game.

'Okay, think. Dragon's Canyon is a dragon graveyard. It's only real value is the energists inside the dragon fossils so maybe she's hoping to mine some energists down there. But that seems too simple. Wait! Calypso said she needed both me and my country.' Van glanced at the pendent now hanging from Calypso's neck. She needed me to get the pendant and she needed Fanelia in order to get inside Dragon's Canyon. I can understand her wanting the pendant for its magical properties but what's so important about Dragon's Canyon besides energists. Unless…there's something else…'

Suddenly, Van knew which question to ask.

"What's inside Dragon's Canyon?"

Calypso was pleased. "Very clever, Van. You're not a dupe after all."

AN: Ahhhh…I go through all this trouble to write a long chapter, and it's a cliffhanger. Ha ha…sorry. At first I wasn't going to post this chapter until I reached a certain part of the story, but I decided to add a few things before that happens so this chapter ended up a little too long. There's no way for me to tell for sure when I'll update next. School is especially hard this year and I'm struggling to keep my grades up, but I'm still determined to finish this story, so every spare moment I have will be dedicated to writing the next chapter. I think I'm gonna stick with this story for a while since I've been inspired. If I stop, I'll forget all the great ideas I have now.  

Also, I had a really funny dream involving the cast from Yu-Gi-oh and X-Men so I plan on writing a short fic based on my dream. It's going to be really funny so keep your eyes open for that.

Now, I'd like to thank all my reviewers for sending threatening reviews and e-mails that encouraged me to keep writing. It was just the kick in the pants I needed, so this chapter is for you. Thanks!

Here's a shout out to my "son." HI HARRY!!! YOUR DEAD FATHER MISSES YOU!!! ~_^

Sayonara for now!

…AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!!!