Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne; this is written purely for the enjoyment of myself and others.

Author's note: Thanks for all of the lovely reviews.

f-Zelda: Folken didn't punch Van, but as to what he really did to him I can't say right now. It would ruin the surprise later. Don't worry though, it will make sense soon.

Chapter 1

"So," a low voice mumbled, drawing out the end of the word casually. "You finally let one of your memories slip. It will not be long now until we are able to open your mind fully." Carefully he set a wrinkled hand on the smooth glass compartment in front of him, and gazed past the ghost of his own reflection to a pale man surrounded by white-coated men. Hundreds of thin tubes full of colourful fluid connected to the man's arms, legs, chest, and head. He lay suspended like a lifeless rag doll. In front of the glass, a smile twisted the observing man's lips. "You can't protect your secrets forever."

"Yukari!" A slim girl managed to shout while racing down the busy street. Yukari stopped to watch her friend dodge a strolling couple, and jump over some lumber lying innocently by the edge of the road. The material of her friend's elegant jade dress waved madly in the air, glittering like a rare jewel. Finally the girl came to a sliding stop, almost crashing into Yukari. Her short light brown hair was a wind blown disarray, but she neither noticed or cared.

"Yukari," her voice was low. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Hitomi's words appeared to blow right past Yukari, whose face revealed nothing of her true inner thoughts. Yukari knew there was no way to back out of this conversation, but Gaea help her for trying to prolong the inevitable. "Hey," Yukari's smile was overly bright. "That's a nice necklace; did your grandmother give it to you?"

"I-" Taken back in surprise, Hitomi spared a glance down at her pendant. She watched as it seemed to shimmer, taking on the glow of the setting sun. Suddenly she frowned, and looked accusingly at her brunette friend. "Don't change the subject Yukari! It won't help dissuade me from my point. You promised to be here for the festival. Did you forget that?"

Yukari's face fell, becoming sullen. "No, I didn't forget." Letting out a sigh she adjusted the heavy luggage strap that insisted on cutting into her shoulder. "Hitomi, this is the only chance I'll ever get. I was invited to work at Asturia's castle. A castle Hitomi! Do you know how much they're paid!" Yukari gazed at Hitomi, reading the array of emotions that flew across her open face. "I'm sorry Hitomi."

"It's okay," Hitomi managed to smile. "I guess I'm the one who should be sorry, I'm was being self centered. It's just-" she looked over Yukari's shoulder down the buzzing street full of people. "It was so sudden, and you… You didn't tell me you were leaving tonight. The only reason I found out as because of Amano."

"Hitomi," Yukari stepped forwards and enveloped Hitomi in a tight hug. "I didn't mean to." Yukari felt tears stinging the back of her eyes. "I was going to tell you, but I didn't know how. I was planning on writing you a letter after I got there but now… I guess I'm just a coward after all huh?" She let out a sad laugh. "I'm glad you found out though."

"Yeah," Hitomi said. "I'll have to come and visit you sometime, and we can write each other often." Yukari released Hitomi from her grasp, and smiled again. This time Hitomi saw it reach her eyes.

"Bye Hitomi," she whispered. Turning away she waded through the throng of people, and was soon out of sight.

Hitomi sighed to herself, feeling very alone in the large crowd. The sun was almost all the way down, and the festival would begin shortly. Scanning people's faces as they went by, she tried to pick out her grandmother, but there were just too many people. They were all heading in one direction now, towards the town square. Hitomi found it just about impossible the fight her way through such a great mass, so she let herself be swept along with them. Maybe she would find her grandmother already waiting for her there.

Eventually the crowd stopped, and Hitomi found herself jostled rudely between people as they tried to force their way to the front. One little boy had enough gall to crawl under her legs, at which she shrieked. Striking out with her hand she managed to snag the back of his ruby shirt. Startled, the boy looked up at her with a sheepish smile, and somehow managed to twist out of her grip. Once free he promptly slipped away, and disappeared underneath the sea of feet once more. Soon Hitomi found herself stuck on the edge of the great crowd, but luckily she could still see the middle of the square.

A wooden platform was raised high above the heads of the people, and it was there that the speaker would stand. A dark form started up the wooden steps leading to the top, mounting the rickety building with the grace of a trained warrior. A hush fell over the crowd and in expectant silence they waited. Hitomi gazed up at the man name Balgus in awe. Illuminated by the red glow of the setting sun, he was a commanding force.

In a deep rumbling voice he started. "We gather here today to honour the goddess of the Mystic Moon, who blesses our fields and watches over the destinies of our children. She, who remembers the sorrows and joys of our world, who smiled when the first baby laughed, and cried when the first man died." He paused to look up at the largest moon that hung in the sky, and everyone followed his lead.

Hitomi smiled at the sight of the swirling blue, white, and green moon. The sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains to the west now, and the stars were able to materialize one by one, coming out of their daytime sleep. The pendent warmed against her collarbone, and filled Hitomi with a sense of calm. Lazily she shifted her gaze to the top of the nearby tree line. A faint glimmer of white twisted through the clouds. It looked like a strange large bird of some sort. It was so high up though, that the girl doubted anyone who was not looking for the speck of white would see it. With a sudden steep drop that made her stomach flip just watching, it dove into the forest.

Suddenly feeling someone's eyes on her, she discreetly glanced around; there was no one staring at her. An airy presence reached out with wispy fingers, teasing the edge of her mind. Then, the faint sound of footsteps echoed in her ears. Whirling around her eyes opened wide, and she stared straight ahead at the forest. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. Suddenly stopping, she held her breath and froze in place. She did not even notice that Balgus had started talking again, or that the people beside her were giving her questioning looks. All she could see was the man in a black cloak, standing off to the side. His hood was up, effectively shading his face.

What does he want?

He looked directly at Hitomi, but she couldn't make out who he was. Abruptly he swung around and disappeared like a ghost between the trunks of the trees. Hitomi felt the cool fingers tug at her mind, commanding her to follow. Trancelike, she let the presence in her mind pull her where it willed. Sinking deeper and deeper into the forest, she barely noticed how far away from the town she was actually going. The farther she went, the darker it seemed to get. Then dense leaves of the trees blocked out the starts and moons.

The unnamed force pulled her forwards insistently, and so she went on, never looking back. The ancient trees of the forest seemed to press closer and closer, looming ominously overtop of her. Soon her growing nervousness could not be ignored, and every noise she heard made her jump. A white fog curled around her ankles with a life of its own. Her short hair grew damp, and started to curl slightly from the moisture in the air.

She came to a small clearing and slowed down. Something snapped in front of her and she froze. The fog obscured her vision, and she was only able to see directly in front of her. A knot gathered in her stomach. It twisted and wreathed in her guts, and left her feeling extremely uneasy and exposed. A low rumble sounded, and Hitomi stiffened. She had the distinct feeling that something large and breathing was standing right beside her. She thought she saw a head of black hair, but when she slowly turned she found herself to be horribly mistaken. Her heart jumped into her throat, and her eyes widened at the great looming shape that gradually came into view.

Two great big liquid brown eyes shot through with red opened and stared at her. The elegant slit black pupils told her it was a dragon. She could see her reflection imprisoned in it's eyes, and shivered at the sight. Hitomi fought her natural urge to turn and run, a dragon was supposed to be like a cat, and cats were attracted to movement. The girl stayed as still as stone, waiting, and waiting. But nothing happened; the dragon did not make any move at all. It's dinner plate sized eyes only continued to gaze at her in a calculative way. Against her will, Hitomi felt her tense muscles relax. A steady pulse like a heart beat came from her collarbone and lulled her into a sense of security. Somehow she knew the dragon would not hurt her, at least for the moment.

Warily her gaze travelled slowly over the giant body and she marvelled openly at the creature. This dragon had no scales; it seemed to be made out of giant plates of armor the colour of bone. But what mostly surprised her was the pair of wings folded across its back. They were made out of white feathers, and looked soft to touch. Hitomi didn't know much about dragons, but she knew that they did not have feathers. Instead they had leathery wings like bats, if they had wings at all.

This must be the dragon she had heard whispered tales of, Escaflowne. Some stories portrayed the dragon as a god of protection, while others a terrible god of war. While each tale disagreed on many aspects, one thing that always stayed the same was the dragon's appearance. It was always white, with feathered wings. Perhaps what she had seen earlier in the sky had been the dragon in front of her.

Suddenly, she noticed an almost scorching warmth seeping into collarbone and looked down at the pendant. It radiated a small light, illuminating her face. The dragon in front of her shifted closer the slightest bit, and Hitomi's head whipped up. Without meaning to her eyes once more caught the dragon's and she found herself unable to turn away. The pendant's glow increased dramatically, and Hitomi's stomach dropped. Bound in the dragon's gaze she felt like she was falling, plummeting to the ground from the sky. The next time she blinked she was no longer standing in front of the dragon at all; she was in a vast empty black space.

Hitomi opened her mouth to say something, but the complete silence of the strange place seemed to stop the words from leaving her lips. The darkness pressed closer and closer and she felt panic rising inside of her. The dark shadows filled her throat like black liquid, and she found herself chocking and gasping for air. Closing her eyes Hitomi calmed her rapidly beating heart, and bit-by-bit the dark shadows gradually left her body. Once she was able to breathe normally again she reopened her eyes, only to stumble backwards in shock. On the ground only a few feet in front of her lay a boy about her age.

His knees where tucked into his chest, and he was suspiciously still. Kneeling down beside him she put her head near his nose and heard the faint whistle of air. Relief that he was still alive flooded her, and she sat back, overwhelmed by it all. Dark hair spilled across his forehead, and he appeared to be wearing some sort of red sleeveless shirt and tan breeches. She brought one of her hands to hover just above his bare shoulder, and hesitated.

This is silly Hitomi, she told herself. He's only a boy…

Her hand touched his skin and she found it unbelievably cold, like ice. The boy didn't respond to her touch, and she grew worried. She shook him a couple of times and still he didn't move. What if he was dying?

Please wake up!

The pendant, which had gone unnoticed until now pulsed by her neck; its light shining brightly in the dark. The boy's body seemed to warm up, and colour returned to his pale skin. Hitomi backed away a little, and that's when he opened his eyes. His gaze instantly found hers, and Hitomi froze. She could see confusion, hatred, and loneliness all tangled together in one, but a soon as she blinked his expression changed, becoming unreadable.

The smell of smoke filled her nose, and somewhere a man screamed. Phantom flames licked hungrily at her heels, and she looked around urgently. The boy just stood there, it was as if he did not even see the fire. His unnerving gaze was settled firmly on her. Stone cold, his eyes sent icy shivers down her spine. Somehow Hitomi found the strange boy directly in front of her face, his hand a hair's breath away from her cheek. The heat from the fire scorched her legs, and somewhere in the distance she heard crashes of cracking wood and beams collapsing. Hitomi couldn't take it any longer.

I want out of here now, please, she begged in her mind.

Surprisingly the boy and flames started to fade. For one odd moment Hitomi found herself caught in the middle of two worlds, one in the dark brown eyes of the boy, and the other in the middle of the forest. Then he was gone, but Hitomi could feel where his hand had brushed her cheek the moment before he had vanished. All she could do was stand immobile; everything that happened slowly sunk into her mind.