Escaflowne: Mirrors

Episode 20: Cold-heartedness

Chid was only seven years old and the reigning Duke of Fried. His father had been dead for nearly half a year and the job had not gotten easier as time wore on. His only comfort was that he'd finally gotten used to a new staff. Boris, the chief advisor to his father, had sacrificed himself when Zaibach invaded. His new advisor Safil was less than Boris's caliber. As the young Duke sat cross-legged in his oversized throne listening to the reedy old man's nagging voice he thought again of his late parents. His mother, Marlene Aston Fried, had died many years ago, but he still held memories of her beauty. Long blonde hair and jade eyes, her face glowed in the annals of his mind. He could recall her musical voice telling him stories of knights and dragons. His favorite? Her romanticized tales of Allen Schezar whose sword skills were unmatched by man, beast or monster.

It had been a very long time since he'd heard any stories. His father never indulged his fantasies but tried his best to build the strengths of a true leader into his son. Chid often missed his father's power. The rasping sound of Safil's lecture found its way back to his ears. "And when the aid from Zaibach comes you can reinforce the south wall like we've been planning. And also, your lordship, the ambassador from Bedlam is scheduled to be arriving next month. I've seen to it that arrangements have been made for his lodging and dining. I have also prepared the points of discussion you should make when you audience with him and listed possible resolutions that would be in the duchy's favor. I will not be with you at the meeting of course, but I assure you, Duke, that we will rehearse it so that everything passes without flaw." Chid began to zone out again, the thought of running through entire negotiations with Safil stirred suicidal thoughts. A lizard girl wearing the dust-colored servant's uniform snuck in and refilled the glass of water by his throne. He watched the liquid swill as she left, his aid still speaking. "Now, if you would please, I will read the financial report of the last month's spendings and earnings…"

A female voice interrupted from the chamber door. Chid's ears turned full attention to her. A young woman, dark skinned like the locals but shaved bald, dressed in the female, two-piece version of the Friedian military uniform. She bowed courteously and entered. "Please excuse me, Advisor, but it is time for the Duke's evening meal."

Chid nearly cheered. Dhhiya, his personal assistant and friend, had saved him from brain death yet again. "Yes yes! I'm starving!" He hopped off the throne. "We'll finish this at a later date okay?"

"Well, I think it would be more efficient…" Chid stopped and grimaced at the turn in Safil's voice. "… if I read the reports to you during dinner."

Again Dhhiya came to the rescue. "The Duke is to dine in private tonight, Sir." Chid relaxed and traipsed over to her, leaving Safil stricken dumb with his report still in hand. She nodded at him with a smirk and the two of them headed out into the hall toward his private chambers.

Once out of earshot the young Duke didn't bother to hide his gratitude. "Dhhiya! That was brilliant! I thought he would never stop!"

Dhhiya laughed, looking down to him with large, deep mahogany eyes. "When your face begins to resemble his as closely as it was just now I know its time to stop."

"You mean when my eyes go out of focus." Chid smiled. He didn't know where he would be without Dhhiya. Ruling a country at seven was hard, and he had to make adult decisions every day. His Personal Assistant was the only one around him he felt comfortable opening up to, and her warmth had a liberating affect on him. Nearly four months ago she had been assigned to him, and since then her charms and friendly nature had led him to befriend his entire personal staff from his tailor to the lady who sweeps his suite. It made his off-duty time much better than the time he'd spent alone.

They reached his private chamber shortly, the space a cluster of five or six rooms tucked into the interior of the sprawling estate. His room was large and filled with plush seating pillows, elaborate tables and sculptures with gold inlay, and thick rich fabrics. He plopped down Indian-style on a particularly fluffy green cushion and smiled broadly at Dhhiya as she held the door for the kitchen hands. The two women placed a healthy feast before him and bowed.

"Thank you!" Chid beamed. The aides whispered about how charming he was and bowed out of the room. Dhhiya moved to follow them out but her young charge called to her. "Dhhiya! You should stay! You never stay!"

She turned and bowed to him. "Sir, My place is not at your table."

"I don't mind." Chid said, waving her back to sit beside him. "We can share!"

"Gracious as always Lord Chid." Dhhiya said. "But the feast of a king is not meant for a servant. I will keep you company."

She came and sat down, but he wasn't satisfied. He pushed a bowl of dried fruit toward her. "There's too much for just me! Please, I know you haven't eaten anything today."

Dhhiya blushed a little bit, causing her amber skin to turn orange across her nose. "Okay, Lord Chid, if you really insist."

"I do! I want company, but I don't want you to have to sit there and watch me eat." He pushed the pitcher and another plate toward her. "I like having you around me. I feel like I have a family again when you stay."

She smiled sweetly at him, the lights of the lamps catching the layers of warm colors in her eyes. "It is my pleasure." She tilted her head to one side. Even uniformly hairless she still looked like a young lady of twenty. "I like being with you too Lord Chid."

"This isn't fair! I didn't agree to this! Let me out of here! Let me out RIGHT NOW!" Dilandau pounded on the door of his prison in rage. Both Yukari and Amano had their backs braced against it, trying hard to hold it shut amidst the constant barrage. "I'll kill you ALL!"

"Cut it out already!" Hakai bade from the floor where he was flicking paper wads across the room. "They're not going to open it."

"I'm gonna open it myself!" Dilandau informed him, increasing the speed of his blows to double-time.

Hakai called unenthusiastically over to him. "You know, I think you're missing a major part of your thought process… like when to quit."

"I DON'T QUIT!" Dilandau said, spitefully, even though the memories of becoming frightened and running away to hide behind Jajuka played vividly in his head.

"Maybe you should LEARN TO!" Hakai shouted over the increasing volume of Dilandau's attacks. "I mean, I don't like to give up either, but sometimes you've just got to ACCEPT that you can't do anything and STOP TRYING!"

"That's pretty ironic coming form you." Dilandau said, critically. "How many times do I say 'go away' and you keep saying "Let's do something lets do something.""

Hakai flicked the wad across the wooden floor. "You know, Celena had the opposite problem."

Dilandau flinched and turned away from the door. "What!"

"You don't stop." Hakai informed him. "She never started. You couldn't get that girl to do anything! I mean she barely moved."

Dilandau wandered over and sat down next to him. "I am getting tired of screaming and no one listening. Plus this whole room gives me a headache. It seems like I always get headaches in places like this…and I'm sick of the whole thing."

Just outside the door, Amano and Yukari noticed the disappearance of the pounding and sank together down the door. Amano sighed. "I'm glad they calmed down finally."

"Let's hope they stay that way!" Yukari said. "It's going to be a real pain if we have to keep them locked up in the same room the whole trip."

"Gadess says that the flight's gonna take all night." Amano reported. "If I have to spend all night braced against this door I'll be completely zombified tomorrow."

"Good point." Yukari groaned. "And we can't rule out the possibility of another of our infamous raids. Allen seems ready to stop at nothing to rescue Chid."

"Paternal instinct I guess." Amano huffed.

Yukari sighed. "Do you think that if…" she started blushing, "…if the two of us ever got married and had a son he'd look like Chid?"

Amano took a second to swallow. "Hold it –what?"

"Do you think he'll be cute? I hope our son is cute someday." Yukari dreamed.

"When did we start having kids?" Amano asked.

"Well, I guess whenever Allen and Marlene did." Yukari said. "Chid is half Allen and half Marlene, and since you're him and I'm her… it would make Chid ours then right?"

"Oh yeah." Amano's tone seemed to fall deflated and dull.

Yukari was a little hurt by the sound. "Is the idea of us having a kid that terrible to you?"

"No it's not that!" He said, recovering quickly. She eyed him and he was forced to launch an explanation. "Its me and Allen again. I try my best to forget that we're the same person but I always seem to remember."

"All it takes is a mirror." Yukari said. "I think it's too bad that you don't like Allen. I mean, if you don't like yourself…" She took a moment to look more closely at him. His eyebrows arched. "You don't feel… insecure with yourself do you?"

"I don't what?" Amano cried. "What makes you think I'm insecure?"

"Well, you don't like Allen, maybe you don't like yourself." Yukari concluded. "I thought maybe if you were sub confident or, I don't know, uncomfortable with who you are, personally, it would explain things."

"I'm perfectly fine with who I am." Amano said, defensively, but her blast of insight had him thinking. "Well, at least I was. I used to be. But when I learned that Allen and I were more than just "connected" I started getting … worried I guess. I don't like Allen. He's so judgmental and angry. I'm not like that am I?"

"Maybe toward him." She answered. He scowled. "No but, okay, Allen's what? 21? 22? Look at his life so far! He's seen so much more than you have."

"Then maybe I should be afraid for my future." Amano replied. "What's gonna happen to make me inevitably turn into him."

"Nothing has to happen!" Yukari said, but realized with one look that he was not pleased with her support at all. "What I'm trying to say is that Allen isn't as bad as you think he is. Truthfully, yes, he is a little uptight, but there are good things about him too. A lot of things in him I see in you. You're both strong, talented, dedicated, loyal and compassionate. Those aren't bad things. Allen's risked his life over and over again for the people he cares about. I get that same conviction and love from you every day. You've both got that knightly sense of regal duty… look at how you take care of Suru and Hakai."

"They're family."

"But even more than that!" Yukari insisted. "You watch out for them like an older brother! What I'm getting at is that the good stuff is there for both of you. Allen's just had a harder time of it. He's learned to be more careful."

"So I'm reckless." Amano said cynically.

"No." She was losing patience. "You're more open for risk. You should be happy. It means you haven't had to watch your parents and loved ones tortured and killed."

"No I haven't…" his voice was getting heated, "I haven't done brave and heroic things. And I haven't watched everyone around me die miserable deaths. Does that make me less than him?" Yukari recognized what he was doing, Amano was digging down into the deepest part of himself and dragging up all the nasty parts. Usually she was flattered to be opened up to, but now it felt like she was just taking abuse. She watched as he shoved himself up and began pacing in front of her. "Four years isn't that much time! I'll be 21 before long – am I supposed to go through some kind of cataclysmic disaster and become antsy and overprotective? That's what Allen is and I'm nothing like him! No way!"

Yukari frowned deeply. "Amano stop it! You're being unfair."

"I'm NOTHING like him!" Amano snapped. "Not now! Not ever!" He turned and stormed off down the hall. "Nothing!"

Yukari felt the blood running to her face. She cupped her hands and yelled at his retreating back. "Pride is another thing you have in common! If you stepped back from yourself half a second maybe you'd see how thick-headed you're being!"

He didn't look back.

Allen had heard the fight. The halls of his ship were made of metal and hardly soundproof. He'd heard every word from where he leaned by the door, and could hear Amano's angry footsteps coming up the corridor. He quickly came off and into the center of the room, appearing casual. The Earther stormed straight past the cockpit without a second's thought. Gadess and Van were at their stations and turned when the clomping came and faded. Van looked to Allen. "What was the yelling about?"

"Nothing serious." Allen answered. "Amano and Yukari were just trying to keep those two demons under control."

"I'd have thought it was a lover's spat." Gadess said sounding amused with a little bit of a smile. Overall he was feeling pretty optimistic about the trip, and it felt good to be flying his home ship again. Van shook his head.

Allen, true to form, was thinking. Thoughts of words said behind his back, of the woman in the hall and the man that left her there, yelling and accusations, flowing golden hair and jade eyes; he turned over his shoulder. Yukari wasn't coming. He addressed the two men with him in the room. "Van, Gadess, I don't know if you realize, but I consider you two of my most trusted companions."

They each turned an ear to him. Gadess recognized the turn in his voice. "Yeah, Boss, we're listening."

Allen bowed his head, letting his long golden bangs fall over his closed eyes. "We all know that Yukari is Marlene from Earth." The audience waited through the pause. "And that I'm still in love with Marlene from Gaea. Do you think, if there was a chance that Yukari and I could … restore … that relationship would it be my place to take it?"

"Boss," Gadess said gravely, "you are considering courting Yukari?"

"But Yukari is with Amano isn't she?" Van asked, not really interested in the twists of Allen's love life. "Are you expecting to steal her from yourself?"

"I wouldn't do that." Allen said, not as firm in his conviction as he would have liked to be. "But if the chance rose…"

"There is nothing wrong with dating a Lunar." Van announced. "It is perfectly acceptable as far as I'm concerned."

"Don't act irrationally, though, Boss." Gadess warned. "While she is Marlene's double, she is not Marlene. She may not be so anxious to "restore" the relationship as you put it. And you can't expect her to be exactly like Marlene."

Allen opened his eyes to reveal a hard, solid blue. "If we are destined… then she will be."

Yukari marched in from the hall sourly and began to look over the maps, grumbling to herself.

Gadess felt the irking persuasion to lighten the mood. "We're headed west southwest."

"That's taking us straight to…" She narrowed her eyes on the map and traced her finger along their path. "Godasim."

"The capital city." Van explained. "We'll be able to tell pretty quickly if its peaceful or not."

"And then we will find Chid." Allen said. "And you will get to meet your son."

Yukari was immediately reminded of the conversation in the hall and narrowed her eyes. "Yeah I know."

"We should get there by sunrise I think." Gadess announced. "If the weather holds. We all should rest tonight and begin whatever it is we plan to do tomorrow morning."

"That sounds like a good plan." Van agreed. "I'll go find Amano… then we'll decide on the bridge shifts and turn in."

Areolar was the pinnacle of power. Standing on the bridge of his – his not his commander's – ship with his chest thrown forward and his arms crossed. He surveyed his crew busy at work. They were all following his orders. He liked the taste of power, the knowledge that anything said to any one of these men would be immediately carried out. He jutted his jaw sharply and boomed to his helmsman. "Take us straight into Godasim! I want us there without a moment to waste!"

" Yes sir."

He strode across the riveted metal floor, his boot heels making solid sounds as he moved. He stared out over the land and the jutting levistones. The Ventrags were beginning to thin out, their cold faces becoming steadily greener as they rolled toward the southern sea. The new commander took a moment to bathe in his vision of the future. 'Soon,' he thought, 'soon this whole planet will return to its rightful owners and I will see it done. It will be a world called up by my hands.'

Resultant arrived on deck again. It seemed like every time Areolar was enjoying some time in his own glory, his hotheaded captain would appear. He assumed it was because the 19 year old was impatient and annoying, but the truth of the matter was that since the rest of his detachment had either defected or been left behind, Resultant had nowhere else to go. "How much longer?"

"Still no respect." Areolar scowled. "I am the supreme being on this ship. You do NOT just wander up and demand things."

"Fine, sir." Resultant hissed. "How much longer?"

"Long enough." Areolar replied. "We'll reach Godasim as soon as possible."

"GODASIM!" Resultant cried, outraged, "I thought we were after the ship with Escaflowne on it!"

"That can wait." Areolar replied, grinning to himself. "I'm in charge of the whole army while Trapan is in Asgard. I've got to make sure that occupation is going well."

"This isn't fair!" Resultant fumed. "You promised me payback!"

"Lets take a second to figure out who is in control here," Areolar suggested with more than a hint of malice, "who of the two of us is the Commander?" Resultant glared at him through his red bangs. "Who of the two of us most recently killed someone?"

The young man backed down, his eyes slitting as he stared at the self-confident rogue who was sneering back.

Areolar read his withdrawal as a confession of defeat and threw his head cockily. "That's what I thought. Now get off my bridge. Go plan your revenge somewhere where you won't be in my way."

Resultant's face turned nearly the color of his bloodish locks as he stormed out. None of the crewmembers paid him any mind, and the commander turned back to his window taking pride in his accomplishments. He'd done good work in the past…and he'll continue to do so in the future.

Weaving northward through the Ventrags, another captain stood on the bridge of another ship. With Allen and Gadess gone, Dryden knew it was up to him to watch things. He made sure he was kept informed and stayed mostly in the control room. It was a position he was not used to being in and didn't particularly like. He was usually waited on while servants did this kind of work, but it was unmistakable now where his responsibilities lie. Perhaps he was following some gut instinct he'd never noticed before. Perhaps he was following Allen's example. Who knew.

No matter how dedicated Daiji was to his friend, the 21-year-old found he could only stand on the bridge useless for so long. He had taken to exploring the ship again, intrigued by the Gaean style of art and décor, as well as interested in anything he could find about 'himself'. In yet another side study he found a particularly amusing portrait. It was a painting of the Fassa family from around fifteen years ago. Daiji studied it closely. He couldn't help but notice a couple key things. The Fassas were very rich, well decked in jewels for the scene. Dryden was very cute at about six. His mother was very beautiful, and his father was very, very ugly.

Millerna wandered in, fiddling with the chain around her neck again. She quickly tucked it in her shirt when she noticed him standing there. "Daiji?"

He looked up. "Oh, hi Millerna."

She wandered over and stood next to him, looking up at the portrait. "I've never noticed that painting before."

Daiji shrugged. "I find new rooms in this place all the time. You need a map to get around."

"Is that Dryden?" Millerna pointed, amused. "He was so adorable!"

"He's better than me." Daiji mused. "When I was that age my mother thought I was cute with a bowel cut. Its embarrassing to see pictures…especially since someone leaked them to the internet."

"Internet?" Millerna asked.

Daiji laughed again to himself. "Nevermind, its an Earth thing."

Millerna let her head tilt to one side as she stared at the picture a little longer. "Lady Fassa was stunning."

"Yeah," Daiji agreed, "But when you think about it… I guess she kind of has to be. I mean I figure she's got to be gorgeous for Dryden to turn out as well as he did and have that guy as his father."

Millerna laughed. She'd grown up with Meiden Fassa around the palace, since he was a chief advisor to her father. "I always thought he was a little unattractive."

"The man's ugly, Millerna, let's face facts."

"He did use to scare me as a child." She admitted. "Does your father look like that?"

Daiji whistled and shook his head. "Noooooooo. My Dad is so much better looking than that! He'd never have gotten elected with a face like that."

Millerna smiled and paused a moment to study Daiji. Hitomi's observation was right when she said that he and his double had the closest connection. Perhaps, the queen speculated, that meant that he was an authority on his other self. She decided it was worth a shot. "Daiji, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Millerna, anything you want."

"Do you…" She pinked up a little, "…do you think Dryden is okay? Sometimes he gets so sad…"

"Dryden's depressed." Daiji answered. "It comes and goes at times. I think it was all the guilt that did to him, myself. I mean he's not a stranger to the fact that he left a whole country hanging. But we'll fix it, no need to worry."

She tried to keep her hands from moving, the feeling of the rings against her skin coming to her consciousness. "Do you think he really loves me?"

"I can tell you that one without a doubt." Daiji said with a look of confidence she hadn't seen on Dryden's face for half a year. "The minute you walk in I get it in the chest. He's smitten, Millerna."

She liked the sound of that. "Does he love me enough to try again?"

Daiji became more serious, but not upset. He thought a second before responding. "He's getting more comfortable in his own skin. I think, if you asked, he'd do anything for you Millerna. You'll just have to help convince him that he can."

"Millerna!" Jiai cried, rushing in. "I finally found you! The girls are starting a game down where we had lunch! Would you like to play?"

"I'd loved to!" Millerna smiled.

Jiai noticed Daiji and stumbled a little. "Y-You can come too! It was Hitomi's idea, but I don't think we'd mind if you… you know… hung out."

He smiled at her. "Maybe in a bit. I think I wanna find Dryden's room and start looking through his stuff."

"Daiji!" Jiai cried. "That's awful!"

"Oh, he doesn't care!" Daiji assured. "It's me after all, and I do have to find it first, it's like a treasure hunt."

"Well, don't mess anything up…" Jiai warned, "or, well, don't do anything to make Dryden mad or anything, I don't want to see you two not getting along."

"Really, 'Ai, don't worry about it."

She and Millerna bid goodbye and left down the hall. The young queen laughed to herself. "You two are cute."

"What?" Jiai cried. "We – you mean me and Daiji? Cute!"

"You get all nervous." Millerna kidded. "It makes me feel giddy seeing you."

"Because I remind you of yourself." Jiai said. "Just because he's Dryden and I'm you doesn't mean… I mean for sure… that Daiji and I are destined does it?"

Millerna looked knowingly. "I don't know… if fate is copied… it could."

Jiai's eyes brightened. "You really think so! Wow! I mean, I've been a Daiji Seijitsu fangirl like everyone else for, like a year or something but I would never imagine…" She stopped herself. "What am I saying? I'm sorry, I got carried away." Millerna simply laughed at her again. They arrived at the galley after a long winding walk to find Hitomi, Merle, Koneko, and Suru already waiting there.

Hitomi waved excitedly. "Millerna! Great, Jiai, you found her!"

Koneko scoffed. "We were sure you were lost for good."

"Hitomi's gonna teach us a card game." Merle said. The cat girl swept her tail behind her in excitement.

"I thought it would be fun to have some girl time since most of the guys are busy." Hitomi explained, feeling like a teenager.

Millerna and Jiai sat down around the table with the rest and Hitomi passed out the cards. Koneko watched hers pile up in front of her. "Where'd you find these anyway? Don't tell me you had a deck of cards in your pocket the whole time."

"I did." Suru volunteered.

Jiai laughed. "You didn't! This whole time?"

Suru began to empty her pockets onto the table. "I have candy too if you want some."

"That's very nice, Suru, but you don't have to – " Jiai assured, giggling as jacks, trash, costume jewelry and other assorted odds and ends appeared on the table.

"Okay," Hitomi got their attention again, "everybody pick up your cards. We're playing a game called Crazy 8s. Earthlings, you probably know it."

"Its like Uno right?" Koneko asked.

"Yeah without the reverses and stuff.

"Please explain the rules." Millerna appealed. "I've never heard of Uno."

"Don't worry, it's easy enough to catch on to." Jiai assured her. "You try to get rid of all the cards in your hand by matching them with the card on the top of the pile. The first person out wins."

Hitomi turned the top card over. "This is the discard pile. When it's your turn you try to get rid of a card here by matching it either by number or suit…er… symbol. If it's the same suit or number then you can put the card on top and the next person has to match it to get rid of their card."

"And the 8s are crazy!" Koneko said. "They change the stack to be anything you want! So use them as a trick when you've got nothing else to play."

"Understand?" Jiai asked.

"I get it!" Merle cried.

"Maybe I'll learn better as we go along…" Millerna suggested. "Let's just begin."

"Okay." Hitomi pulled her first card out of her hand and placed it down. Suru went next and did the same. Merle matched the suit with her turn.

"Did I do it right?"

"Yep." Koneko confirmed, matching Merle's by number.

It was Millerna's turn. "What do I do when I don't have a card I can play?"

"Draw one from the pile." Hitomi replied.

She did. "What if I cannot play this one either?"

"Then draw until you do." Hitomi replied.

"Nuh uh!" Koneko contested. "You draw one and then give up your turn!"

"I never learned it that way." Hitomi replied.

'Then you learned it wrong!" Koneko insisted. "You only draw one… otherwise the game is done like that!"

Hitomi didn't like being contradicted. "Listen, I'm the dealer! We'll play with my rules!"

"But they're WRONG!"

Millerna found herself laughing. Jiai asked her why over the argument. "What's so funny?"

"Its just that… Hitomi and Merle fought like this all the time too…" Millerna replied. "It reminds me of fun times."

"An argument reminds you of fun times?" Merle asked, twitching her ears. "You're weird, your highness."

Yosu had again run across Seguir. The 35-year-old had found a little peace flipping through a book in one of the libraries when the orange-haired teen interrupted him with another of his interrogation sessions. "So…" Seguir looked up, "you see Hitomi as a daughter?"

Seguir's eyes closed and he shut the book on his hand to keep his place. "I guess so."

"So you think that makes you her father right?"

"I am her double's father." Seguir replied.

"That's not what I asked."

"Biologically I'm not." Seguir admitted. "But spiritually, I think I am."

"And what does that mean?" Yosu pressed.

Seguir turned and looked him over studiously. Yosu was a portrait of a protective older brother, and there was something endearing about that. He smiled at him. "I understand what you're doing, but you don't have to worry. Hitomi is safe with me."

Yosu came around to sit on the couch across from him. His brown eyes stared through his forking orange bangs. Seguir felt those eyes measure and weigh every detail of him with laser precision. "Is she really? I know you think you know what's best for her, but she is not your daughter and she isn't from your world either. Don't assume that you can make her decisions for her."

"I wouldn't do that to Ayen, nor would I do it to Hitomi." Seguir assured him. "She's fourteen. She has responsibility over her life."

"Hitomi is fifteen not fourteen."

"Oh," Seguir moved the book on his lap. "I guess that was Ayen. But even so, that's more reason for her to have responsibility. All I want is to make sure she isn't taken by the Master the way that Ayen was."

"So this is like a make-up test for you." Yosu said, shrewdly. "A chance for you to redeem yourself where you failed last time."

His comment stung, but Seguir tried to keep himself professional. "I suppose that's what it comes down to." His stomach knotted tightly as he admitted it. Yosu was even more intrigued hearing the man confirm his theory. Seguir put the book on the table between them, giving up any chance of returning to what he was doing. He didn't really want to anymore. "It hurts me to admit that I'm being selfish, but deep down, I do feel responsible for Ayen, and I really want to do something to get rid of the guilt. She would have never been involved if it wasn't for me. I think often over all the steps I've taken – searching for what I could have done differently that would have seen her alive right now. But in the end it doesn't make any difference and I feel helpless. Maybe there was nothing I could have done to stop it from the very beginning."

Yosu's smirk melted. His personal victory seemed insignificant to the tremendous loss Seguir was suffering even now. It made the 16-year-old seem very shallow in comparison. He felt a little ashamed of the way he'd been constantly checking Seguir's every move. "I don't think it was your fault."

Seguir was startled out of another one of his reflections. "Excuse me?"

"You blame yourself for things in the past that were out of your control." He bowed his head a little, finding something in his own heart that made him feel genuine. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt like himself. "It's not fair to blame yourself for things you couldn't help. Even the events that led up to your daughter's death were beyond you're control, really. You were only doing what you thought was best, even at great personal risk you tried to make the best decisions. I would have done the same things, I'm sure, if I were in your position. And as it stands, neither you nor I can do anything about it now."

This moment of thoughtfulness meant more than just the words coming from a source of so much scrutiny. Seguir's green eyes smiled a little. "Thank you very much. I had no idea that such a young man could have such a wise nature. You've surprised me."

"Well," Yosu rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "I'm not wise. I can only say what's on my mind, but if it helps you out I guess it makes me glad. Since I've gotten here, I swore to protect Koneko and Hitomi but with all these more capable swordsmen and prominent names I guess I feel sort of useless. I find myself wondering why I even came."

"You've proven to be good for me." Seguir assured him. "If anything else, you're useful in that regard. I was doubting my decision to find all of you, but seeing how you've accepted me after all of your questions I feel better about it."

"Hmph." Yosu let his eyes drop. The Captain's next statement shocked him to his heart.

"I was starting to think that King Van and Sir Allen would never accept me."

Yosu swallowed hard for a second. "You didn't? Not Van?"

"No, he seems so comfortable on the other side," Seguir said with a sigh, "I think he'll find it easiest to just continue disliking me. It takes a lot more to change a person's mind when it's made up as firmly as Van's is."

The Earther smiled a little to himself. He presented his hand. "I'm Yosu."

Seguir looked up to his face and smiled as well. "Call me Seguir if you like. It's my first name, and it's more than Lord Van or Sir Allen will ever want to call me, I'm sure." He reached out and they shared a firm clasp.

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to be met."

"Its getting dark," Gadess observed, "everything seems fine. Should we do the bridge shifts?"

"I suppose that would work." Amano agreed, sounding grouchy.

"I suppose so." Yukari agreed in a similar tone. Apparently nothing had been settled in the last hour or so.

Van looked around. He was no expert on the ways of love, but he was perceptive. The atmosphere was charged enough to run the ship on tension alone. He had to do something to get them off the bridge, for the good of the bystanders at least. "I volunteer to take the first shift. I think we should hold two hour posts."

"Good plan." Gadess agreed. "I'll relieve you."

"And then I'll take the post in four hours." Allen determined.

There was a very long bit of silence while Yukari and Amano stood oblivious to the world. Gadess was the bravest among them and leaned on the helm to break the intense nonverbal war. "Do either of you have a preference?"

Yukari quirked an eyebrow tersely. "Amano should probably go last since he refuses to take responsibility for himself and would rather project his problems on everyone else."

Amano's attention snapped to her. "I WHAT?" He closed his eyes and growled for a second before returning fire. "No no, Yukari should have first choice since she ahs no casual regard for other's feelings and would rather point her demanding finger at other people."

"I do not!" She cried, "you are the one who started yelling at me for no reason! I don't have to suffer just because YOU have issues!"

"Well, shame on me for thinking you'd understand! You're only my girlfriend!"

"I'm not Super girl or anything." She snapped at him. "I'm not made of steel."

"Lemme guess…" he said, mockingly, "you're rubber I'm glue?"

She gaped at him. "You're so immature."

Gadess, Allen and Van let their eyes wander. The Sergeant stretched his neck a little and cleared his throat. "So, we'll just say Amano will follow Allen and Yukari can go last okay?"

There were no words of dissent – no words at all really – so they just assumed that it was agreed. Van walked over and took the helm. "I'll send someone to wake you, Gadess, when your turn is up."

"Send who?" Allen asked, obviously.

Van grumbled a little, embarrassed to have forgotten the size of their crew. Gadess smiled to himself. "I'll just get myself up okay. I'll relieve you in two hours."

"Fine."

Allen stuck his head in between the two combatants. "Yukari? Amano? Why don't you go get some rest while we have the chance."

Yukari looked at him, then becoming facetious, cast her eyes on Amano. "That sounds like a good idea Allen, I think I'll do that. But don't expect Amano to. He won't take the advice if only because it came from you." Her snark became a glare and she marched out.

Amano shouted after her. "Figures you'd be on his side! Maybe you should just take him instead! We're the same person! You'd probably like him better!"

The captain hung his head as Amano stormed out after her. Gadess had to pause. This little lover's quarrel was not going to die easily and he could read his friend well enough to understand how Amano's last statement had been interpreted. He spoke very seriously. "Boss… don't do anything rash…"

"Excuse me." Allen turned with a rush of hair and vanished into the corridors.

Gadess cast Van a shrug of uselessness and left for a two-hour nap. Van turned and stared out the front windows at the darkened landscape, feeling drained.

Down below a door slammed. Allen rushed to the sound. He stopped a moment before Yukari's room. Behind this portal was the double of his one true love. A woman long stripped from him by a cruel fate. She also was not on good terms with her boyfriend. He'd be a fool not to take this chance. Without distraction, he was sure Yukari could learn to love him.

With confidence he knocked on her door.

A perturbed voice answered. "Who is it?"

"Its me," he replied, but realized the statement had no meaning while he and Amano shared the same voice, "Allen."

"Allen?" Her footsteps were heard. She eased open the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you about something."

"Like what kind of something?" Yukari asked, her mood no brighter. "If its stuff about Fried can it wait until morning? I really don't want to discuss technical stuff right now."

"Its not about that." Allen assured her. "It's a more personal topic."

She stared. "Okay then come in I guess." She left the door open and returned to sitting on the bed where she'd been undoing her shoes. Allen moved to stand over her.

The knight was not a stranger to the art of seduction. He was a veritable magnet for women. Yet he still found this conversation a little difficult. He had never approached a woman who was fuming before, nor had he tried to woo someone who was already involved. Still there was the doubles angle…and he was comfortable knowing the kind of person she was. He decided to take the approach he would have chosen if facing Marlene, since that, essentially was what he was doing. "To start, I know that you are fully aware that you are the Lunar counterpart of Marlene, and that Marlene and I were romantically involved before she was married."

"That's playing it down a bit don't you think?" Yukari asked, feeling like she was about to have the same argument with a different Amano. "You had a son together after all."

"Yes, you're right of course… I just didn't want to intimidate you with the details."

"Intimidate me?" Yukari asked, a note of suspicion in her voice. "Why would I be intimidated?"

"Well, it's just that…" His head spun as he tried to qualify things. Perhaps a fresh start was in order. "Yukari, I have seen how you and Amano have fought tonight."

Yukari looked even more angry, but a little sad as well. "I guess it was hard to miss, we have been digging at each other a lot."

"It seems like you have reached a roadblock," Allen observed, "and that your relationship has broken." He sat down next to her and took her hand. The Earther stopped and stared in near disbelief. Allen's blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the lamplight. "Dear Yukari, I know Amano served you in the past, but I cannot help but feel you have been shorthanded. He was what you had on the Mystic Moon, but he is unworthy of you. In truth, I say that I have loved you since I laid eyes on you in Palas that fateful night. Your radiance is one that existed across worlds. And your shine – your shine is she same as the shine that I found in Marlene. Seeing as you and she are one in the same, I love you as much if not identically as I loved her; with all my heart and from the depths of my soul.

"It is my sincere belief that you would love me too if you would take the chance of loving someone from another world. I am all that you saw in Amano, but even more. My age and experience allows me to take you places he could not and give you things that are beyond his ability to give.

"I implore you, dear Yukari, to meet our destiny. We were meant to be together, fate's hand both delivering each other's doubles then taking them away. I dare not ask this while you and Amano were together, but seeing now that it is over between you, I have peace in my heart when I ask you to please see me with the light that was reflected by him. Please be with me, be my Marlene for me, be mine as destiny planned for you to be mine, so that we may love each other purely, knowing that no more trial may touch us."

Yukari blinked slowly, his gloved hands enveloping hers in a warm embrace. She could feel him inching toward her, eager for her consent, perhaps a kiss for a seal, or a tear to fall from her eye. She felt like she was in a dream and that none of what she was experiencing now was real. She saw in his face the moment in her living room when his hair and eyes were projected through Amano like a phantom rising from the dark. In the same way, she came back to her senses.

Calmly, she removed her hand.

"Allen." The girl walked from the bed, leaving him to lean and stare after her. "You are a handsome love struck person and I can see in you what you begged me to see." She turned to him, golden flowing hair and aquamarine eyes filling his sight. "But, I love Amano."

"Yukari," he was confused and a little panicked. Seconds ago he was certain she'd say 'yes'. Even now he was sure a bit of persuasion would change her mind. He rushed to her and took her shoulders. "Can't you see? We're the same person! The love you have for Amano could be meant for me. Is it so impossible to believe that you and I could be reunited after so long?"

She suddenly felt an intense sadness swell in her chest. He looked so desperate as he stared at her. He was a frayed hope-worn man standing just out of reach from his heart's desire. She wanted then with all her heart to be what he wanted her too, but lies were still lies, even the one he was telling himself now. He tightened his lips in anticipation and she recognized the look as one worn on Amano's face that moonlit night on the Crusade. He'd said it was a loneliness he'd never felt… like he was going to cry but knew he had no shoulder to do it on. She remembered how the light hit Amano's brown eyes when she'd kissed him.

Allen tightened his grip on her shoulders and she tried to smile through her own pain. "I know you think you love me Allen, but you don't. You love Marlene. I know she loved you very much. I can feel it in me now, and it's making me dizzy and lightheaded. But despite the doubles and the similarities, I'm afraid that I'm no more Marlene than you are Amano, and I realized looking at you now that I love him that much more. We're far from over, Allen. The fighting and yelling just means that we're growing, and I can't possibly leave it now." She reached up and took his face in her hands. With a slight tug she coaxed him down and remembering the night in the moonlight when Amano had felt so alone, she kissed him.

It was, perhaps, the first time Allen had ever been kissed with such sadness. He was flooded with memories of lost love. He could feel his heat breaking a million times as he closed his eyes and imagined one last kiss, one farewell to his sweet golden star as it shone brightly for a moment and warmed him with the touch, smell, and feel of its light.

When Yukari let go tears were stinging his closed eyelids. He moved his hands to cover hers where they rested on his cheeks, every thread of his heart and mind feeling for Marlene, seeing her standing right there with him, her hands on his face, her taste on his lips and her love in his heart.

It was nearly unbearable how cold and hurt he felt inside.

Yukari watched as his tears slid slowly down, tears of her own beginning to flow. She pulled down her hands, holding his between them and waiting for his eyes to open again. He put it off as long as possible, but when they did they were swimming, seeing a reddish-haired brown-eyed girl standing where an angel was just before. Yukari spoke to him. "I'm sorry. I know how much you loved Marlene, and I'm sad for both of you, but she died. She's gone, Allen, and I'm very very sorry that I can't be her for you. All I can tell you is this, she wants you to be happy. I want you to be happy too. But you can't chase her anymore. That what you're doing right now with me, it's what you were doing before with Millerna, but you've got to let her go. You can't chase shadows, it will only hurt you again and again." He hung his head, but she stared even more intently. "Please stop chasing her. Move on. Let her go. Live your life for the present and the future, not the past. Its what she would want. Its what she would say if she were here right now."

"She was here." He said, stricken. Yukari felt her heart stop. "She just kissed me goodbye."

She was worn out inside, and the sound of his voice shattered her. With a sob she hugged herself to his chest. He put up his arm around her shoulder and let the last of his sorrow flow down his face into her hair. She rocked him back and forth, her heart breaking for his heartbreak. It killed her that she could do nothing to help him. She could kiss Amano to make him feel better, but she had no power to heal Allen's heart, all she could do was be his shoulder and let him cry.

Amano hadn't gone to his room, instead he'd been traipsing around the Crusade grumbling. It wasn't long before he'd found himself outside Celena's room where the two Dilandau doubles were being unusually quiet. He peeked inside.

"Okay, I'm gonna get mine further."

"Further than what? Mine's against the wall! Show me how you're planning to get yours further than that!"

"When it hits the wall it'll move yours back."

"Bullcrap! That doesn't count!"

"Shut up! Here I go! Watch!" Hakai got ready. The boys had built themselves a ski-ramp out of loose articles and were distance-shooting candlesticks across the room. Hakai took both ends of a long candle and propelled it with full body weight down the slide. The wax stick soared off the ramp, broke in two on the ceiling, and came down to hook itself by the wick on a lamp sconce like a pair of linked sausages.

Dilandau sniggered in triumph. "Burn! Eat that! You try and you fail!"

Hakai stuck his tongue out at his double and noticed Amano in the doorway. He took his guard immediately. "What are you doing here?"

Dilandau turned and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, seriously. You've already locked us in this room, what do you want from us now? Should we dance for you?"

"No, please," he replied sarcastically, "anything but dancing."

Hakai cocked an eyebrow. "What's eating you?"

"I'm not going to talk about it."

The blond looked to his double and shrugged. "Suits me."

Amano pulled a chair up against the wall and leaned back in it, raising two legs off the ground. "Have you two been shooting candles all night?"

"Not all night." Hakai answered. "First we just broke 'em on stuff. Then we turned the table into a ramp and started racing them. Then we decided to go for distance and THEN we started shooting them."

"That's pretty creative, honestly." Amano noted. "I didn't expect so much from you."

"You give us precious little else to do." Dilandau replied. "If I were back as a Captain of Zaibach, I'd entertain myself in even more creative ways, but no… I'm penned up all day."

"I figured you'd be burning something by now." Amano replied, cynically.

Dilandau glared at him. "Burning stuff is great and all, but we used all Hakai's matches building that tower. If we had some leftover I could show you the real meaning of fun, Schezar clone, but as it is now I'd have to rub two sticks together and I ain't got the patience for that."

"You can threaten me all you want." Amano assured. "You don't scare me."

Dilandau took on a crafty look. "I haven't tried yet."

"Hey, Dil!" Hakai nudged. "I bet you can't hang a candle on that lamp like that."

"I hear a challenge." Dilandau hissed. "You're on."

Amano studied them for a minute. Seeing a pair of impartial parties, he decided to field a question. At best they'd be brutally honest, at worst they'd mock him. It was more than he'd get out of anyone else on the ship. "Hey, guys…
They stopped, perplexed. For once it seemed Amano was addressing them as equals. It made the query interesting. "What?"

"You guys are pretty perceptive." Amano began. "When you see me, how much do I seem like Allen?"

"You mean physically or socially?" Dilandau asked. "Because you've got his looks and his voice."

"And he's bossy like Allen." Hakai added.

"They're both a pair of pansies." Dilandau said. "They're bossy like bullies, but they're so romantically driven that we could drown in their sap."

It seemed to Hakai that this ridicule had turned into a game. "You're right, they're both girl crazy."

"And Jealous of each other."

"And selfish!" Hakai cried. "They think about them and ignore me!"

"Who's selfish, now?" Dilandau prodded. "No, Allen's the selfish one. If I've noticed one thing about Schezar it's that he thinks he's the center of the universe. Every soldier would fail in a fight with him. Every girl would faint at the sight of him. Anything and everything that pervert does is for his own benefit. Amano's not power-tripping like that, really, what he is is wishy-washy. He's led around by Yukari on a leash."

"Amano's weak you're right."

"They're both prideful and self-centered." Dilandau pointed out. "That's what you meant. They both read stuff to make them look good. The sun rises, it's got something to do with how fabulous they are. The ship breaks, it must be something they did wrong. Plus they think they're always right and neither of them can get their minds changed unless they change it themselves. The rest of us have to suffer for it, too."

"Really?" Amano asked.

"Uh, duh." Hakai said. "Don't think we missed that huge fight you had. You were right outside our door!"

"The chick was trying to turn the sap on and you totally exploded on her." Dilandau said offhandedly. "If it were on purpose I'd applaud but since it was just you being a jerk, no cigar. Still, it was a pleasant deviation from the lovey-ness that seems to breed among you people."

Amano bowed his head. "You guys are right." They raised their eyebrows. "I'm all those things you said. And you're right that Yukari was trying to help me and I lost my temper. I was stuck trying to prove how Allen was worse than I am. That's because I was afraid he was better. Yukari was right all along. What I'm so angry at is myself, and all those negative things you mentioned. I see them in Allen and it makes me aware of them in myself. Or maybe it's the jealousy and pride I'm trying to get rid of."

The monologue had put the boys in a state of instant boredom. They rolled their eyes and returned to their game of target practice. Amano sat in his chair for a while pondering his epiphany and finally arrived at a course of action.

"I'm going to find Yukari."

Dilandau and Hakai ignored him as he landed his chair and swept out of the room. The 17-year-old raced down the halls again, jumping stairs on his way to the quarters. Arriving, he bolted into the door. "Yukari!"

She jumped out of Allen's arms and stared panic-stricken at the man in the doorway. Amano's eyes flashed back and forth between the two of them, for a moment becoming incredibly furious, staring knives into Allen with his brown eyes. But, as he did, he recalled what he'd thought of upstairs. His hatred for Allen was uneasiness with himself. That knowledge seemed to strip the blond of all his power.

Amano pointed a finger at the knight, who hid behind a veil of hair. "You stay away from her! You're me and I won't have you exploiting my and Yukari's relationship!"

"Amano," Yukari begged, "don't…"

He glanced to her, his brow still creased and his voice still booming. "I love you Yukari! You were right about the whole thing and I'm an idiot! You don't have to put up with whatever issues I dish out and I wont make you! I'll never do it again and I'm sorry!" He turned back to Allen. "As for you… I want to get one thing straight! I don't like you because you're so much like me, and there's some parts of me I don't like. Remember that when you mooch off my girlfriend pal, because I can be just as mean and self-righteous as you can and I won't let you take the woman I love!"

Allen couldn't say a word. He felt awful. Yukari's heart was primed for emotion. She ran up and grabbed Amano from the side. "I love you too! I'm sorry to fight! I behaved terribly! Don't be mad anymore!"

He was shocked out of anger. "Yu? Wha – Well, I'm sorry too! I was worse. Don't cry."

She looked up at him. "I really do love you. You knew that all the time we were fighting right? I told Allen that - that the fighting didn't mean anything because I never doubted that you loved me. You loved me all through that right? Nothing changed?"

"Yeah I did." He hugged her tight. "Wow. That never even entered my mind. I guess I take you more for granted than I realized."

She sighed and relaxed, glad to be safe after the emotional roller coaster she'd ridden for the last couple hours. He put his cheek to her head and let go of all the anger. Allen watched as if through a window, seeing what could have been and giving up. He and Marlene could be together in another world, but he would have to find a way to make it on his own.

escaflowne

Dusk had fallen and after a good meal and a story, Duke Chid had been put to bed. Dhhiya pulled the covers up over his shoulder and ran a hand over his wispy brown hair before leaving his chambers. She nodded to the guards and they closed the doors behind her. The first guard smiled at her. "I don't think the Duke's been happier, Sir. He really loves you."

"He's a special little boy." Dhhiya agreed. "He has a big heart, it seems like he wants the entire palace to be his family."

"We all adore the Duke." The second said. "It's a privilege to serve him."

His companion nodded in agreement, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, Miss Dhhiya, a message came for you while you were inside." He retrieved a roll of parchment and handed it o the young soldier. "The messenger said something about the Zaibachian troops arriving, and wanted you to come to the throne room as soon as you were able."

Dhhiya read the letter and frowned a little, her jovial spirit smothered. "Thank you. I should go now."

"Our pleasure, sir." The man said with a big smile.

The other saluted. "Goodnight sir!"

Dhhiya marched through the palace halls, returning to where she'd picked Chid up for dinner. His throne stood empty in the great hall alongside a burly blond man in a Zaibachian uniform. Safil was spouting stats and news to him a mile a minute, but stopped when she entered the room. "Oh, this is the Duke's personal attendant, Dhhiya."

The soldier cast his brown eyes over to her. "This is Areolar, a commander under Trapan himself."

Areolar addressed her directly. "Where is the Duke now?"

"I've put him to bed." She answered. "He's asleep." She felt uneasy under the weight of his eyes.

"Are you our only agent in the Duke's inner circle?"

"Safil said you were from Trapan…" She said, guarded and suspicious. "Where is he now?"

"He put me in charge." Areolar answered. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I just…" she frowned deeper, "wasn't expecting him to send someone here. I thought we were secure."

Areolar was more than happy to flaunt his newfound power. "I'm dealing with things my way now. I thought that, since we've had a change of command, I should check on things around here. Make sure Fried is up to the challenge."

"Oh things are going well here!" Safil cried, beginning to stream information again. "Fried was completely recovered since the last war. We've increased our marked economy 130 and even begun rebuilding trade routes for foreign commerce –"

"Silence!" Areolar snapped. "Do you ever shut up?"

"He's correct when he says that Fried is fine." Dhhiya insisted, thinking about how happy it would make her if this new commander would leave. "So, there seems to be no reason for you to change anything."

"You see, that's where I think you're wrong." Areolar stated with a bit of a strut. He took a seat on Chid's throne as if he owned the place. "The Duke isn't a god is he?"

Dhhiya didn't like his interest in Chid at all. "No, he's not, but he doesn't know anything about the Faction in his court. He follows everything Safil says. Everything's going seamlessly."

"Its true." The advisor agreed. "The government proceeds flawlessly and more and more Draconians are working up the ranks. It's only a matter of –"

"Shut up!" Areolar cried. He looked at Dhhiya. "You and this windbag are the only two Draconians on the inside."

"Yes sir, but there are many in the army and working as guards." Dhhiya answered. "They are following the Master's orders without any suspicion at all."

"Well you know, that's just not good enough." Areolar announced, crossing his legs. "There need to be some real changes around here."

"Are you disregarding the Master's orders!" Safil cried.

"I'm the Master's right hand." Areolar said. "I'm in charge of doing his work in the field. I've got the authority to make or break any instructions he's given."

"I believe in the Master's dream." Dhhiya announced defiantly. "I know that we can easily gain a peaceful future through peaceful measures. I won't accept the whims of some new recruit if they disagree with that."

Areolar swung he body forward to lean sinisterly over his knees, his brown eyes shining out of a cast shadow across the bridge of his nose. "Do you want to know ho I got this position, soldier?" She drew back a little more, feeling his stare as if he were a ravenous dog. "Do you recall a man called 'The Machine'?"

"Yes." Dhhiya answered. "Trapan's second in command. Trapan spoke highly of his solid loyalty in his last message. He said that The Machine would flawlessly carry out the Master's work."

A sneer of unbelievable conceit stretched across his face. "I killed him." Dhhiya gasped and he sniggered. "And I've found that death is a very effective means of dealing with people. And its fast. It got me the biggest promotion of my career and granted me a spot in the chronicles of Gaea's history and it only took a couple of seconds. Trapan gave ME Virial's title and that means I am the one who will see the Master's plan fulfilled."

Dhhiya hung her head. "I understand."

"Good, now that THAT's settled, there's something else you need to understand." Areolar got up from the chair and paced before the two gods. "I can't tolerate a human on the throne."

"But Chid is just a boy." Dhhiya appealed. "He listens to everything we say! He might as well-"

"I don't care if he's two, ten or two-hundred, I'm not leaving Fried in the hands of a human." He looked to Safil. "Would you be the next in line to rule if the Duke were removed?"

"Yes sir." Safil nodded fervently, his eyes bugging more. "The Duke has no family or heirs to take his place."

"Good, so there aren't any obstacles either." Areolar stopped. "The Master's safe house is abandoned. No one goes there and the Master has no reason to return. You," he pointed sharply to Dhhiya who felt her throat tighten, "soldier, you are to murder the Duke and hide his body in the temple in the mountains."

Her face drained of blood, the gravity of her orders like ice water in her blood. "I- I what?"

To Areolar it was obvious and relatively simple. "Kill the Duke! He's just a kid, it shouldn't be too hard."

"You can't ask me –" she stammered, "you don't expect –"

"Get over it." He snapped at her. "Killing monarchs is a basic maneuver. And you don't have to stick a knife in him if you're too weak to do that. You can use whatever means you like – poison, smother him, push him in the moat, whatever – just make sure his carcass is hidden in that Safe house. And bring me back something for proof you've done it too, or I'll do the same to you and hide you in the mountains!"

"Sir, I beg you!" Dhhiya pleaded. "Don't make me do this! Don't give me this order! He's only a child!"

"If it's too difficult for you, I'll do it myself." Areolar spat. It sent her into a panic.

"No no! I'll do as you say!" She felt her stomach twist. "Don't stick your sword in him, please!"

"Fine." Areolar said, on the cups of contentment. "But make sure to bring me that proof. And do it immediately. I only plan to be here one day. I'm leaving after tomorrow night and I'd hate to leave my sword in the Duke as a farewell card." The Mutineer stormed out of the chamber and back toward his flagship.

Dhhiya fell to her knees in grief, her face in her hands. Safil turned to go. "I suppose I should prepare to take control of the country… I'm sorry it comes down to this, Dhhiya, truly…"

To be continued…