Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not belong to me, anyone that's not a normal character is.
Chapter Eight
Hitomi awoke suddenly when Nikki screamed. The time spent with her niece had given her the hearing only a mother could have. As well as the instinct to go comfort her. Hitomi said up in bed. There was a faint glow in the room, but none of the candles were lit. She looked at her bedside table. It was her pendant.
Hitomi frowned. Nothing good could come of this. But it was odd. The pendant's reaction usually signaled something bad was going to happen within a moment. Or that there would be some vision. But, tonight, there was nothing. She sighed and picked up the pendant, which reflected it's light on her hands. She would figure it out later. Right now, she needed to take care of Nikki.
* * * * * *
Sweat dripped down Nikki's cheeks, yet she shivered as the images she saw came back to her. All the color was drained from her face. She fought back tears, and the urge to scream again. Hitomi raced to her side. Seeing her aunt only gave her some comfort.
Hitomi's frown deepened as she surveyed her niece's condition. She had no idea of the cause of this sudden fear, her parent's death didn't seem to effect her in this way and it had been months since then. Surely it would not take this long for it to come out.
She patted the little girl's back, trying to look reassuring. "Did you have a nightmare?" Nikki nodded numbly. "What was it about?"
"I saw all these giants fighting, and then this castle in the sky, and all these rocks started falling down around everyone!" she said through choked sobs. She gazed up at her aunt. Instead of calm and reassuring, Hitomi looked as upset as she was, perhaps even more so. This was not what she'd expected, or wanted.
"Giants, did you say?" her voice wavered. Nikki nodded. "You'd better come with me."
She followed her aunt into the silent hall. Hitomi stopped at the room next to her where Harumi stayed. The door was open a crack. Harumi lay in bed, sleeping soundly. She seemed oblivious to the activity around her. Hitomi shut the door and continued on.
Nikki walked at a distance behind her, trying to keep up with her aunt's pace. She heard a howl in the distance. She jumped and ran up to her aunt. Hitomi put her arm around her. "It's only the wolf-men. They won't hurt us." Nikki looked at her worriedly. She did not like the way she said "they."
Their next stop was Van's room. Nikki stood at the door as Hitomi went in. He, too, was sleeping comfortably. Hitomi touched his hand. Only then did Nikki notice the pink glow from the necklace Hitomi was carrying. Hitomi sighed and kissed him on the forehead. Then she left the room, with Nikki jogging to keep up. She led her outside.
Nikki gave silent thanks that Gaea had two moons. Otherwise, it would have been a lot darker. She didn't like the dark. The pendant provided some light, but that only seemed to make this more eerie. Finally, after Nikki's sore feet made her feel like they'd been walking forever, they stopped. Nikki shuddered when she saw the tombs in front of her. Though she was only five, she'd been through enough funerals to know what they held.
Hitomi beckoned her close to her, which she obeyed willingly. She held her pendant up. Nikki gasped at what she saw with it's light.
"That's one of the giants from my dream!" she exclaimed.
Hitomi nodded, not seeming at all surprised. "That's Escaflowne. I've told you about it, haven't I?"
Nikki nodded. "I think so."
"I'm glad you told me about it." Hitomi gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Your dream could be very important."
"You mean it might actually happen?" she asked fearfully.
Hitomi shrugged. I hope not, she thought. She put the pendant around Nikki's neck. "I want you to wear this, all right?"
Nikki fingered the stone. "But I thought you were going to wear it for your wedding."
Hitomi shook her head. "I think it'd be better if you would wear it."
There was something in her tone that told her not to ask questions. Nikki nodded slightly.
Hitomi hugged her. "Now we'd better go back to bed." She took her hand and led her back inside. Before she did, Nikki took one last look at the giant Escaflowne, which looked even scarier without the pendant's light.
* * * * * *
Late the next morning, Hitomi returned to the same spot. Van was there, scraping the rust off Escaflowne's sword.
"You're just in time to see him wake up," he greeted her. "I can't believe I'm preparing for war the day before our wedding."
She sighed. "I know. But it's better to be safe than sorry. We don't want to be unprepared like last time."
He shook his head. "No, I guess not." He picked up an energist lying on the ground.
"Did you have to slay another dragon for that?" she asked, a look of horror on her face.
"No, we have a whole stock of them. There's been no need for them since the war ended." He slit his thumb on the edge of his sword. Then he let his blood flow on the energist before he put it in Escaflowne. It glowed brightly as it came to life. Hitomi reached for the pendant around her neck then realized she didn't have it anymore.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I mean, you've told her about Escaflowne. So maybe she just had a nightmare about it from what she heard."
Hitomi thought for a moment. Then she shook her head. "No, I left out a lot of stuff about the fighting. She is only five after all. I don't want her to have to hear about that stuff. Maybe I shouldn't have let her stay in Gaea. She would probably be better off living with my parents."
Van put his arm around her. "It's not your fault. You weren't the one who brought her here. She must have some purpose, like it or not."
Hitomi nodded and leaned against him. "I just wish I knew what was going on. Then I wouldn't be so worried."
"Don't be," he said seriously. "I won't let anything happen to Nikki or you or anyone."
"Thank you." She kissed him. She knew he would do his best to keep that promise.
"Let me worry about the fighting," he continued. "We have a wedding tomorrow. Worry about that instead."
Hitomi gasped. "Oh, and I still have to fix my dress. Not to mention check on what everybody else did. Oh, dear. Gotta go." She ran of, nearly tripping over the hem of her dress.
Van looked at Escaflowne, the only thing around to listen to him. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that."