Thank you for all the reviews. They just pour in! Thank you so much!
Yeah... anyways... more story!
Disclaimer: I'm running out of things to say... Me no like when you sue... so me will say that me no own Escaflowne or Beauty and the Beast and neither do me own the idea. Thank you very much.
After a slight hesitation, the man stepped towards the light which streamed in through the hole. He ducked his head slightly and until he stepped fully into the light did Hitomi gasp. Piercing red eyes reflected the light fiercely as she gazed upon him. The only thing that made her gasp was the two full size wings coming from his back. Hitomi backed up into the bars of her father's cell and clutched the steel. She turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly until they opened with decision and regret.
She took a few steps towards the demon and looked right into his eyes. With one word, her whole life as she knew it would be changed... whether it be for better or for worse. One simple word escaped her mouth. "Agreed..."
Chapter 3: Goodbye
The agreement had been made and with her word, all was said and done. The demon swept past Hitomi instantaneously, swiftly unlocking the cell. He grabbed Mr. Kanzaki by the back of his collar and started to drag him away.
"Wait! Where are you going with him!?" Hitomi shouted towards him.
The whole time her father yelled, "Hitomi! Hitomi, no!"
She reached for him, but all too soon he disappeared with the demon, his cries echoing off the walls. Rushing into the cell which her father was located, she looked out the small window. Both her father and the lord of the castle stood outside seemingly waiting for something. Suddenly, an object flew into sight and hovered in front of them. It was a small mechanical armor about the size of a human. The man spoke to it and held up her father. Metal claws formed upon the armors fingers and with a quick gasp from Hitomi, they shot out towards Mr. Kanzaki. She turned her gaze away quickly and held her breath but upon not hearing a cry of pain echoing in her surroundings, she looked back to find that the metal claws had wrapped around both his arms.
Releasing her lungs, she sighed with relief as she witnessed her father being flown away back towards their home by the strange contraption. She then sank to her knees from the overwhelming impact the day's events. All her emotions poured out right then and there, all released into tears. Her father was alive and was now safe, but now her fate had been chosen: to live in a castle the rest of her days.
'How did this ever happen?' she would ask herself. 'How did my life change in just one day?'
Her weeping didn't last long, and as the last few tears fell from her now red eyes, a light started to make its way up the winding staircase once again. The yellow glow from a flame cast a large shadow upon the wall and Hitomi knew it was the demon. She didn't bother to look up from where she knelt for once he stepped in front of the cell, his wings cast a large shadow upon her.
She stared at the stone and spoke in a low voice, "You didn't even let me say goodbye. I'll never see him again..." tears started to well up in her eyes again, "...you didn't even let me say goodbye..."
There was silence for quite some time after she spoke, but soon the lord broke the silence.
"I'll take you to your room," he told her.
Hitomi looked up in mild confusion. "My room?" she questioned him. "But I thought that..."
"You don't want to stay up here, do you?" he asked harshly.
"No..."
"Then follow me..." he said curtly.
She slowly got up, taking one last look out the small window before following him. The journey was quite long and the castle seemed larger on the inside than it did on the outside. No electricity existed in the castle and there were candles and oil lamps along every passage to light the way. A mysterious quite seemed to cover the entire castle and the gloom of darkness crept into every corner. Intricate engravings of griffons and beasts of all sorts lined the balconies and walkways. Weapons lined the walls and suits of armor stood against walls looking as if they could come alive at any second. Shadows were cast against every object and the creepiness of the castle seemed to intensify. With head down, Hitomi obediently followed behind Van as he led the way to her room.
Van, wanting to break the eerie silence, cleared his throat, "This is your home now so you may go anywhere in the castle you like..." he thought about this but quickly added, "...except for the west wing. You must never go there."
Curiosity got the better of Hitomi so she asked, "What's in the west wing?"
Upon hearing her question, Van quickly spun around to face her.
"It's forbidden." His raised voice echoed around them and made it sound harsher than he wanted. Hitomi, who had looked at him suddenly when he turned to face her, directed her gaze once again to the floor and their journey continued. Down one of the corridors, they reached a room upon which the demon stopped in front of. His clawed hand grabbed the handle, pushing it down to release the mechanism. With a slight creaking, the door opened to a large room that gave off an old, unused smell.
"This will be your room. Just ask one of my servants if you need anything..." but he was cut short when there was a tapping at his leg. Looking down at the disturbance, he found that Chesta was trying to tell him something.
"Ask her to dinner!" he whispered from below.
Upon hearing the idea, he turned back to the girl that was inspecting the surroundings of the room. "And... you will join me for dinner. That's not a request!"
But before Hitomi could even respond or say anything against what he had said, the door was slammed shut. She stood there, at a loss for words now staring in disbelief at the door. A monster... she was now the prisoner of a horrible monster. She had lost her mother, and now she would never see her father again. Her home was a place of sorrow and misery. Nothing was bright and sunny. Every object and person seemed to be hiding in the shadows which only the slightest ray of light could penetrate.
Her gaze shifted towards the window when it burst with light as a bolt of lighting flashed through the sky. The rain fell heavily from the sky as the thunder continued to erupt from the distance. Hitomi slowly walked to where the window sat and looked out onto the surrounding land. Her eyelids shut when the tears threatened to come again. The closure did not slow their coming and steadily but surely they fell. Her forehead soon came to rest upon the smooth clear glass of the window as she heaved a deep sigh.
~*~Back in Town~*~
The sounds from the local bar echoed throughout the night but could not beat the pounding of the rain. Many a merry folk were drinking their beer and vodka, each talking loudly to be heard over the great noise of everyone else. The only one that wasn't joining in the happiness was a certain blonde haired man. Sitting at a table in the corner, he stared at his drink but not one sip had yet been taken.
"Eh Allen... Earth to Allen! What's the matter man? Don't tell me you're still moping around about that Hitomi girl..."
Allen glared back at his friend Gaddes and heaved a sigh. "Who does she think she is? Why... it's more than I can take. No one says no to Allen Schezar."
"Darn right. Every girl in this town wants to be with you... but she's the only one who has the guts to reject you." Gaddes replied.
"Don't worry. I'll do whatever it takes to have Hitomi as my own," Allen said more confidently. "She will see the mistake she made with time and come running back. Yes... she will be mine..."
But just as Allen was finishing his sentence, a man came bursting through the doors panting heavily, his clothing torn, his face red, and hair sticking in everyway possible.
"Masato!" The owner of the bar saw the figure as soon as they entered and within moments, recognized him as Masato Kanzaki, Hitomi's father.
A few people rushed to his aid and brought him to a chair to sit in. He was catching his breath and sat there staring at his shaking hands. All his words came out barely above a whisper and were all said under his breath. Many people had now gathered around the usually calm man and watched in anticipation to find out what had caused him to be in such a state. The owner then stood in front of Masato, knelt down to be eye level with him and grabbed his shoulders with both hands. This caused Hitomi's father to snap out of his dazed state and look in front of him.
The other man's voice came calmly and clearly, "What's the matter? Tell us what has happened."
Masato sat there for a second to recollect his thoughts. The shock of all that he had happened within the last hour took a toll on his state of mind. One word came from his mouth... the only word that unconsciously came from his trembling lips.
"Hitomi..." he whispered.
Everyone looked around at each other then back at Masato.
"What about Hitomi?" another man asked. "Has something happened to her?"
A sudden vigor claimed Mr. Kanzaki as he rose from his chair and started to head back towards the door. "We must go! We must go and save her!" he shouted.
The bar was now full of commotion. "Save her from whom? Does someone have Hitomi?"
Looking around at everyone, Masato answered. "There is a demon that is holding Hitomi captive! We must go save her!"
The people in the bar all fell silent and looked at the crazy man for a moment before they all burst out into laughter. Disbelief washed over Mr. Kanzaki as he stared at everyone laughing at him as though he were pulling a prank. Allen who had gained interest at the mention of Hitomi's name gathered with the rest of the people.
He spoke up once his laughter subsided. "So what does this demon look like?"
Thinking he was being taken seriously, Masato the described what he could remember about the mysterious lord of the castle. "He was tall and had sharp claws! His teeth were like fangs... and his hair was gray..."
"Go on Masato! Tell us more!" some yelled his way.
"His skin was pale... and... and... and... he had two giant wings coming from his back! But they weren't white! They were gray and dark..."
The whole bar was exploding with laughter, some falling out of their chairs they were laughing so hard while others were crying from the intensity of all the hilariousness.
"But you must believe me..." Mr. Kanzaki said in disbelief. "Someone must help me..."
"Oh we'll help you..."
He looked up and a few men walked towards him. A smile graced his features and he thanked them over and over but when the two men had reached the door, they stopped, opened the door, and pushed him out onto the street. The doors slammed behind him and even more laughter sounded from behind the closed doors. Spinning around on the street, Masato looked for anyone that would help him, but with no one in site, his hope started to fail
His head fell back so his face stared at the stars and his eyes closed in defeat. He then whispered into the night's air a phrase in which would only reach his ears. "Won't anyone help me?"
Back inside the bar the laughter died down. Allen took a drink from his mug from the now lightened mood. With closed eyes he shook his head from side to side in the comedy of the whole situation but his ears perked up when he heard a few men mumble to themselves. "That crazy old buffoon... ranting about demons and such. What next? Big Foot?"
A group of men that were conversing started laughing once again which gave Allen a little time to think about the man's words. At the thought, a smile came to his lips. Gaddes, seeing this change in Allen, sat down next to him to make sure his friend wasn't going insane for Allen was whispering something over and over to himself.
"Crazy old Kanzaki, eh? Crazy old Kanzaki..."
Just as Gaddes was about to open his mouth to say something, Allen cut him off as he started to talk though he never directed his stare towards him. "I promised myself that I would have Hitomi as my own Gaddes... and I have just thought of a plan to make that happen..."
Their talk went late into the night, but what no one knew was that Hitomi's father was telling the truth all along.
~*~*~*~*~
Holy crap! It has been a while... reason... I was in a musical. I practically lived at the school for about the last 2 weeks of rehearsal. Go to school at 7:00 in the morning and come home at 10:00 at night. Fit in homework, then on the weekends I was helping paint the set and playing floor hockey and trying to get more that 6 hours of sleep. Sorry for taking so long but now my life is back for the musical is over. Sorry if it is a bit short... I really wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible to let everyone know that I'm not dead. I know how much everyone is enjoying this so I got the chapter written. Thank you for your patience and all the reviews! Continue to R&R! And remember I have an email update list... just tell me if you want an email when I update and I'll add you. Romance and exciting stuff will be coming up in the next chapter so keep posted!
Disclaimer: I'm running out of things to say... Me no like when you sue... so me will say that me no own Escaflowne or Beauty and the Beast and neither do me own the idea. Thank you very much.
After a slight hesitation, the man stepped towards the light which streamed in through the hole. He ducked his head slightly and until he stepped fully into the light did Hitomi gasp. Piercing red eyes reflected the light fiercely as she gazed upon him. The only thing that made her gasp was the two full size wings coming from his back. Hitomi backed up into the bars of her father's cell and clutched the steel. She turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly until they opened with decision and regret.
She took a few steps towards the demon and looked right into his eyes. With one word, her whole life as she knew it would be changed... whether it be for better or for worse. One simple word escaped her mouth. "Agreed..."
Chapter 3: Goodbye
The agreement had been made and with her word, all was said and done. The demon swept past Hitomi instantaneously, swiftly unlocking the cell. He grabbed Mr. Kanzaki by the back of his collar and started to drag him away.
"Wait! Where are you going with him!?" Hitomi shouted towards him.
The whole time her father yelled, "Hitomi! Hitomi, no!"
She reached for him, but all too soon he disappeared with the demon, his cries echoing off the walls. Rushing into the cell which her father was located, she looked out the small window. Both her father and the lord of the castle stood outside seemingly waiting for something. Suddenly, an object flew into sight and hovered in front of them. It was a small mechanical armor about the size of a human. The man spoke to it and held up her father. Metal claws formed upon the armors fingers and with a quick gasp from Hitomi, they shot out towards Mr. Kanzaki. She turned her gaze away quickly and held her breath but upon not hearing a cry of pain echoing in her surroundings, she looked back to find that the metal claws had wrapped around both his arms.
Releasing her lungs, she sighed with relief as she witnessed her father being flown away back towards their home by the strange contraption. She then sank to her knees from the overwhelming impact the day's events. All her emotions poured out right then and there, all released into tears. Her father was alive and was now safe, but now her fate had been chosen: to live in a castle the rest of her days.
'How did this ever happen?' she would ask herself. 'How did my life change in just one day?'
Her weeping didn't last long, and as the last few tears fell from her now red eyes, a light started to make its way up the winding staircase once again. The yellow glow from a flame cast a large shadow upon the wall and Hitomi knew it was the demon. She didn't bother to look up from where she knelt for once he stepped in front of the cell, his wings cast a large shadow upon her.
She stared at the stone and spoke in a low voice, "You didn't even let me say goodbye. I'll never see him again..." tears started to well up in her eyes again, "...you didn't even let me say goodbye..."
There was silence for quite some time after she spoke, but soon the lord broke the silence.
"I'll take you to your room," he told her.
Hitomi looked up in mild confusion. "My room?" she questioned him. "But I thought that..."
"You don't want to stay up here, do you?" he asked harshly.
"No..."
"Then follow me..." he said curtly.
She slowly got up, taking one last look out the small window before following him. The journey was quite long and the castle seemed larger on the inside than it did on the outside. No electricity existed in the castle and there were candles and oil lamps along every passage to light the way. A mysterious quite seemed to cover the entire castle and the gloom of darkness crept into every corner. Intricate engravings of griffons and beasts of all sorts lined the balconies and walkways. Weapons lined the walls and suits of armor stood against walls looking as if they could come alive at any second. Shadows were cast against every object and the creepiness of the castle seemed to intensify. With head down, Hitomi obediently followed behind Van as he led the way to her room.
Van, wanting to break the eerie silence, cleared his throat, "This is your home now so you may go anywhere in the castle you like..." he thought about this but quickly added, "...except for the west wing. You must never go there."
Curiosity got the better of Hitomi so she asked, "What's in the west wing?"
Upon hearing her question, Van quickly spun around to face her.
"It's forbidden." His raised voice echoed around them and made it sound harsher than he wanted. Hitomi, who had looked at him suddenly when he turned to face her, directed her gaze once again to the floor and their journey continued. Down one of the corridors, they reached a room upon which the demon stopped in front of. His clawed hand grabbed the handle, pushing it down to release the mechanism. With a slight creaking, the door opened to a large room that gave off an old, unused smell.
"This will be your room. Just ask one of my servants if you need anything..." but he was cut short when there was a tapping at his leg. Looking down at the disturbance, he found that Chesta was trying to tell him something.
"Ask her to dinner!" he whispered from below.
Upon hearing the idea, he turned back to the girl that was inspecting the surroundings of the room. "And... you will join me for dinner. That's not a request!"
But before Hitomi could even respond or say anything against what he had said, the door was slammed shut. She stood there, at a loss for words now staring in disbelief at the door. A monster... she was now the prisoner of a horrible monster. She had lost her mother, and now she would never see her father again. Her home was a place of sorrow and misery. Nothing was bright and sunny. Every object and person seemed to be hiding in the shadows which only the slightest ray of light could penetrate.
Her gaze shifted towards the window when it burst with light as a bolt of lighting flashed through the sky. The rain fell heavily from the sky as the thunder continued to erupt from the distance. Hitomi slowly walked to where the window sat and looked out onto the surrounding land. Her eyelids shut when the tears threatened to come again. The closure did not slow their coming and steadily but surely they fell. Her forehead soon came to rest upon the smooth clear glass of the window as she heaved a deep sigh.
~*~Back in Town~*~
The sounds from the local bar echoed throughout the night but could not beat the pounding of the rain. Many a merry folk were drinking their beer and vodka, each talking loudly to be heard over the great noise of everyone else. The only one that wasn't joining in the happiness was a certain blonde haired man. Sitting at a table in the corner, he stared at his drink but not one sip had yet been taken.
"Eh Allen... Earth to Allen! What's the matter man? Don't tell me you're still moping around about that Hitomi girl..."
Allen glared back at his friend Gaddes and heaved a sigh. "Who does she think she is? Why... it's more than I can take. No one says no to Allen Schezar."
"Darn right. Every girl in this town wants to be with you... but she's the only one who has the guts to reject you." Gaddes replied.
"Don't worry. I'll do whatever it takes to have Hitomi as my own," Allen said more confidently. "She will see the mistake she made with time and come running back. Yes... she will be mine..."
But just as Allen was finishing his sentence, a man came bursting through the doors panting heavily, his clothing torn, his face red, and hair sticking in everyway possible.
"Masato!" The owner of the bar saw the figure as soon as they entered and within moments, recognized him as Masato Kanzaki, Hitomi's father.
A few people rushed to his aid and brought him to a chair to sit in. He was catching his breath and sat there staring at his shaking hands. All his words came out barely above a whisper and were all said under his breath. Many people had now gathered around the usually calm man and watched in anticipation to find out what had caused him to be in such a state. The owner then stood in front of Masato, knelt down to be eye level with him and grabbed his shoulders with both hands. This caused Hitomi's father to snap out of his dazed state and look in front of him.
The other man's voice came calmly and clearly, "What's the matter? Tell us what has happened."
Masato sat there for a second to recollect his thoughts. The shock of all that he had happened within the last hour took a toll on his state of mind. One word came from his mouth... the only word that unconsciously came from his trembling lips.
"Hitomi..." he whispered.
Everyone looked around at each other then back at Masato.
"What about Hitomi?" another man asked. "Has something happened to her?"
A sudden vigor claimed Mr. Kanzaki as he rose from his chair and started to head back towards the door. "We must go! We must go and save her!" he shouted.
The bar was now full of commotion. "Save her from whom? Does someone have Hitomi?"
Looking around at everyone, Masato answered. "There is a demon that is holding Hitomi captive! We must go save her!"
The people in the bar all fell silent and looked at the crazy man for a moment before they all burst out into laughter. Disbelief washed over Mr. Kanzaki as he stared at everyone laughing at him as though he were pulling a prank. Allen who had gained interest at the mention of Hitomi's name gathered with the rest of the people.
He spoke up once his laughter subsided. "So what does this demon look like?"
Thinking he was being taken seriously, Masato the described what he could remember about the mysterious lord of the castle. "He was tall and had sharp claws! His teeth were like fangs... and his hair was gray..."
"Go on Masato! Tell us more!" some yelled his way.
"His skin was pale... and... and... and... he had two giant wings coming from his back! But they weren't white! They were gray and dark..."
The whole bar was exploding with laughter, some falling out of their chairs they were laughing so hard while others were crying from the intensity of all the hilariousness.
"But you must believe me..." Mr. Kanzaki said in disbelief. "Someone must help me..."
"Oh we'll help you..."
He looked up and a few men walked towards him. A smile graced his features and he thanked them over and over but when the two men had reached the door, they stopped, opened the door, and pushed him out onto the street. The doors slammed behind him and even more laughter sounded from behind the closed doors. Spinning around on the street, Masato looked for anyone that would help him, but with no one in site, his hope started to fail
His head fell back so his face stared at the stars and his eyes closed in defeat. He then whispered into the night's air a phrase in which would only reach his ears. "Won't anyone help me?"
Back inside the bar the laughter died down. Allen took a drink from his mug from the now lightened mood. With closed eyes he shook his head from side to side in the comedy of the whole situation but his ears perked up when he heard a few men mumble to themselves. "That crazy old buffoon... ranting about demons and such. What next? Big Foot?"
A group of men that were conversing started laughing once again which gave Allen a little time to think about the man's words. At the thought, a smile came to his lips. Gaddes, seeing this change in Allen, sat down next to him to make sure his friend wasn't going insane for Allen was whispering something over and over to himself.
"Crazy old Kanzaki, eh? Crazy old Kanzaki..."
Just as Gaddes was about to open his mouth to say something, Allen cut him off as he started to talk though he never directed his stare towards him. "I promised myself that I would have Hitomi as my own Gaddes... and I have just thought of a plan to make that happen..."
Their talk went late into the night, but what no one knew was that Hitomi's father was telling the truth all along.
~*~*~*~*~
Holy crap! It has been a while... reason... I was in a musical. I practically lived at the school for about the last 2 weeks of rehearsal. Go to school at 7:00 in the morning and come home at 10:00 at night. Fit in homework, then on the weekends I was helping paint the set and playing floor hockey and trying to get more that 6 hours of sleep. Sorry for taking so long but now my life is back for the musical is over. Sorry if it is a bit short... I really wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible to let everyone know that I'm not dead. I know how much everyone is enjoying this so I got the chapter written. Thank you for your patience and all the reviews! Continue to R&R! And remember I have an email update list... just tell me if you want an email when I update and I'll add you. Romance and exciting stuff will be coming up in the next chapter so keep posted!