Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me. Nikki, Harumi, and Mia do.
Descendants of Escaflowne
"And then what happened?" five-year old Nikki asked.
"Then I came home," her aunt replied.
Nikki frowned, disappointed. "That's it? No happily ever after?"
She shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it."
Nikki squirmed out of her lap. "What do you mean?"
"Well, in some ways it wasn't totally happy. I miss him very much. But I would have missed everyone here if I had never come back. And I never would have met you."
Nikki considered this. "And I never would have met you either," she said finally.
Her aunt smiled. "Exactly. So some good did come out of it."
"Can I go play outside now?"
"Yes, you may. But don't go in the street. I'll watch from the window." She hugged her and skipped out the front door.
"Are you sure you should have told her those stories?" Her cousin Harumi walked into the living room.
"There's nothing wrong with telling stories."
"I know that. But you're making it sound like it's real."
She frowned. "That's because it is real. You believed me when you were young."
"Well, I was five years old and I believed anything back then. But, really, you can't keep going on about this weird fantasy world like it really exists."
"I can and it does. You're becoming as bad as my father. My mother and Nikki are the only ones who believe me."
"Yes, well, it runs in the family," Harumi replied. "It's like a tradition or something."
"The story, or the fact that almost everyone believes that we're insane?"
She laughed. "Both."
"Well, it's true, believe it or not. I'd take you there myself if I could."
"But you can't. So you don't have any proof. The only thing that could take you there was that pendant of your grandmother's. And you lost it."
"I didn't lose it," she reminded her. "I…"
"… gave it to that king to remember me by." Harumi recited along with her. "When will you move on with your life?"
"I don't know. I probably never will. Because I will be going back there someday."
Harumi rolled her eyes. "You say that all the time. It's been fifteen years now, Hitomi."
"No matter how many years it's been. I will. Anything's possible if you wish hard enough."
She sighed. She knew it was no use arguing with her.
* * * * * *
Van walked down the long hall of the castle. He stopped when he heard a loud giggle coming from one of the bedrooms. He stepped inside and spotted a tail sticking out from under the bed. Slowly he tiptoed to it and lifted up the bedcovers. "Found you," he said triumphantly.
The person the tail belonged to giggled and jumped out. "Yeah. Here I am. You found me!"
Van laughed. "Your mother said the exact same thing when we were young."
The little girl nodded. "During the war, right?"
"Yup. You sure have a good memory, Mia."
Mia giggled. "Well, I've only heard the story a hundred times. From you and Mother."
"Yeah, I know." Van sighed. "It's the only way to keep it alive."
"Hmm." She nodded. "Guess what?" she said.
"What?"
"Father's coming home soon! Mother just told me. Isn't that great?"
Van smiled at her. "Yeah, really great."
"And we're going to have a party for him. Mother said it's okay. But I had to ask you first."
He laughed. "Merle would go along with it anyway. But I don't mind. It's not every day your father comes home."
"I know! I miss him so much. So does Mother."
He nodded. "Of course she does." Van felt sad. At least Merle's husband was coming home. He didn't know if he'd ever see Hitomi again. Even after fifteen years, it still hurt him to think about it.
"I feel like he's been gone forever," she continued. "I wish he could've taken me with him." Merle's husband was a cat-boy who had been apprenticed to Dryden when he rebuilt his trade fleet a few years after the war. He was constantly traveling with him. "How come Tatiana gets to go, but I don't?"
"Because she's a lot older than you," Van replied. Tatiana was Millerna and Dryden's ten-year old daughter. She often went with her father while Millerna stayed and took care of her duties as Queen of Asturia. Mia, at five, was mostly confined to the castle with her mother and godfather, but it she still longed to spend more time with her father. Van knew how she felt.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go to the throne room. Allen's coming today."
"Oo, goody!" Mia loved Allen almost as much as Van. He visited frequently. "Is Chid coming?"
Van nodded. "But not for a few days. He isn't staying long. He has duties as the king of Freid."
"Right," Mia agreed. She took his hand. "Let's go!" She pulled him out the door.
* * * * * *
When they got to the throne room, Allen was already there waiting.
"Hey!" Van greeted him. "That was fast."
The knight nodded. "Yes, the girls release me early," he said, speaking of Millerna and Princess Eries. "They knew how I couldn't wait to come."
Mia ran to him. "Lord Allen?" She jumped into his lap. "Father's coming home!"
"Yeah, I know. We got a letter from Dryden a week ago," he explained.
Van nodded. "Well, it's great to have you here," he said. He put something down on the table. Allen glanced at it. It was Hitomi's old pendant. He sighed. Van still wasn't about to let go.
Mia tugged at his sleeve. "Come play hide and seek with us."
"Maybe later," he replied. He wanted to talk to Van privately.
"Please?" She purred pitifully.
Van grinned. "How could you refuse her, Allen? Even I'm going to play." He guessed what his friend was thinking of and wanted to avoid the subject.
Allen gave up. "Well, in that case, I'm in. Something else I'm better at then you," he teased.
"No way," Van retorted. "I'll show you a thing or two. Come on Mia." She took both of their hands and proceeded to drag him out of the room. None of them noticed the pendant shiver and then disappear.
To be continued… (maybe )