Disclaimer: Escaflowne and all derivations of its product
belong to Sunrise, Bandai, etc.
Author's Note: I just know if I don't finish this
series soon I'll never get it done…BTW, if I could, I would truly adopt Prince Chid.
He's just a sweetie-pie.
Background: In the last chapter, we see Lisette become
increasingly suspicious of Migel and Celena..
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Speak No Evil—Ch.6
By: Remalna Marguerite
Lisette Cassimey nervously smoothed back her hair. She
wanted to bolt out of the antechamber. Mentally, she berated herself for her
imprudence; who did she think she was to seek a private audience with the Duke
of Freid at a moment's notice? Her thoughts were interrupted when a servant of
the Royal household coughed and discreetly motioned for her to follow him. The
heels of her riding boots clicked against the hard, marble floor. After what
seemed an eternity, she finally neared the great doors of the audience chamber.
The servant announced her, then gestured for her to enter.
"Hello Lady Lisette, how can I help you?" The young Duke of
Freid asked her politely. Despite his young age, Lisette could not help but be
awed. Here was the ruler of one of the most famous Duchies in Gaea, and
despite her father being the former ambassador to Freid, she knew quite clearly
that her family connections were far inferior to the Freids.
"I…I. My father does not know I'm here." She said lamely.
The young Duke smiled at her. She smiled back, relaxing somewhat.
"I'm seeking permission to the National Archives." Lisette
explained. Chid crinkled his eye-brows a little.
"The Archives? If you don't mind, may I ask why?"
"My…my friend, he was orphaned in the Great War. He was
Freidian, and it's only recently that he--my friend--has decided to look into
what happened the night he was separated from his family." She prayed the lie
sounded convincing. The blond-haired young boy nodded absently. He seemed to be
absorbed in thought. "I doubt you would find anything worthwhile at the
Archives—it's in terrible disarray. But," Chid said with a grin, "I could help
you hunt down the papers if you'd like."
"Oh, but I would be taking you away from your—"
"Duties? It's all right…I want to do this for you and your
poor friend. I do remember the loyal services of your father, and I shall be
glad to return the favour." Lisette could not help but be impressed. 'Well
said' she thought to herself. He seemed to have an innate grace of diplomacy
that even a skilled diplomat would envy. She sank into a deep
curtsy—her skirt, pooling about her--and rose up just as
gracefully.
**************
It was nearly dusk and Lisette had found nothing that could
help her discover anything about Desral's past. She sighed heavily. From
behind a mountain of papers, Chid glanced up at her. He noted the pallor of her
cheeks and the quickness of her breathing and guessed quite correctly she was
near an emotional breakdown.
"I'm sorry." He told
her quietly. Lisette nodded and tried to quench down tears of frustration. Her
parents were going to kill her for disappearing like that. Even if she got on
the nearest transport back to Palas, she would arrive too late for the dinner
party the family had planned to attend. She knew that as an ambassador's
daughter, she had certain crucial obligations to fulfill—such as attending
whatever functions her father deemed necessary.
"Is there anything you can recall that you haven't
told me yet?" Chid asked carefully, not wanting to upset Lisette further. "For
example, do you recall exactly where your brother found Desral? Anything that
seems unimportant."
"I…I can't remember. I—no. No wait a moment. The house my
father had rented was quite near town's square."
"The big rose-bricked one?"
"Yes. That one."
"Hmm…that's very close to the palace garrisons."
"And my brother found Desral one day before the Zaibach army
attacked Freid."
"One day? But right up to the Zaibach attack, everything was
very peaceful. I just can't see how he could have suffered such an attack before
the battle."
Lisette bit her lip. Suddenly, Chid scrambled to his feet.
"Wait! Wait a minute! I *do* recall something that was out of the ordinary…but
I can't see how it might connect to your friend. One night before Zaibach
attacked, Allen Schezar's crew captured a Zaibach soldier. I *think* he was one
of the more elite soldiers of their army. On the same day you say your friend
was discovered, that Zaibach soldier had tried to escape. There was a great
commotion in the town square, in fact. A guymelef fight I believe. Well, his
body was never found, so we all just assumed he'd been killed in the fighting."
At Chid's words, Lisette's eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, it all made perfect
sense to her. A melef fight. That would explain Desral's leg wound. A violent
melef battle. That would explain his strange, bloody dreams…and his apparent
loss of memory. For three years, her parents, Asturia's most loyal citizens,
had been harboring a wanted war criminal. She wanted to laugh at the irony, and
cry at the pain of her heart shattering. "I don't suppose you could remember
what the soldier's name was…" She said off-handedly. To her surprise, Chid
nodded eagerly.
"Yes. Yes I do. I recall it quite clearly for Boris and I
had been interrogating him personally. Migel. Migel Labariel. That was his
name."
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Author's Note: I *apologize* for writing such a short chapter. But I thought that was a nice little cliffhanger for ya. Lisette: she's a plucky girl…but former dragonslayer or not, Migel will not let anything or anyone get in the way of his carefully planned revenge. And that, is my big hint for the day. Stay tuned! And if you've enjoyed reading this series, please send me a note, or write a review. Thanks!!