Italics - Thoughts/flashbacks
Author's Thank You Notes:
The Lady Winged Knight - Thanks so much for your compliments on my writing ^________^ I apologise for how confusing the plot still is, but don't worry it's getting cleared up pretty soon ^^
Dreamingofflyingaway: Oooooooooooo¡ your review just made my day! *hugs* I spent a really long time thinking about this plot and I'm so so so glad you like it!!! And I appreciate it so much that you spent time writing a review when you had piles of homework waiting for you to do.
To all readers: I'm really sorry for taking so long in writing chapter 5, sad to say, I'm not as VH crazy as I used to be, coupled with my natural lazy self, I let this chapter rot around for a couple of months. But don't worry, I intend to rewatch Escaflowne AGAIN, haha, that always brings back the fandomness in me, I promised to get chapter 6 up soon!!! So please review my fic, I really love them and appreciate them! Enjoy chapter 5!
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"Do you'll have everything you need?" Millerna asked.
"Yes," Van replied but he didn't move.
"Van, we must get going," Allen urged. Van swept his eyes over Fanelia, every tower, every tavern, every hovel, every brick.
"Van-sama, I promised you that Queen Millerna and I will not allow Fanelia to be razed to the ground a second time," Merle comforted gently.
He nodded. "Thank you Millerna. Thank you so much. And Merle," he enveloped her in a warm hug, "take care of yourself too." Abruptly, he spun away and motioned his companions to follow him.
Millerna was surprised when Hitomi suddenly gave her a quick fierce hug. "I don't know if I'll see you again Millerna but I sure missed you!" With that, she ran after Van and the others, leaving Millerna to wave them off with tears in her eyes.
"Come back. Safe," she whispered after them. Merle reached for her hand and the two women held on tight, watching their friends as they disappeared into the brilliant sunset.
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"Millerna!" Dryden burst into her bedroom chamber. "Hitomi! I heard her voice in my head! She-" He stopped mid-sentence and stared at his wife who stared back. His eyes looked at the half-opened bag that held a few dresses with incomprehension.
Millerna unfroze first. She picked up a blanket she had dropped, folded it and placed it inside with the rest, patting it down. She whirled round to face him, her movements determined and defiant. "Dryden, I am going. They need help so I am going."
He ran his fingers through his messy chocolate hair before flashing her a tired grin. "Somehow, I knew that would be your decision." He moved across the room and stood in front of the shinning visage of beauty. He traced the curve of her cheek gently. "You haven't changed a bit," he whispered. "Still full of surprises. Headstrong¡ and beautiful." She threw herself into his arms at that.
"I have changed. I fell in love." Hearing her speak those words still managed to send a thrill up his spine after three years of marriage.
"You don't have to go you know..." he suggested, "They need someone to help them rule in Van's stead but it doesn't have to be you." She shook her head.
"Oh Dryden, you know Van. It has to be me. He won't feel safe with Fanelia in some strange person's hand and he knows that Asturian princesses undergo vigorous training."
Dryden sighed. Yes, he knew the king alright.
"It hurts for me to go as well... to leave you... and Amelia, if only Eries was still here!" She cried softly, the tears staining his mahogany robe. Dryden's eyes flitted unconsciously to their beautiful daughter of two who lay asleep on her mother's bed as he stroked Millerna¡¯s hair.
"Yes, you must go. We can't¡be so selfish. We must help them to put the world back in order. For us and for Emilia, you have to go," he told her. Millerna raised her head and gave him a heartbreaking smile of understanding.
"I love you Millerna."
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Van grinned maliciously as he poked Hitomi in the side. Hitomi grumbled and rolled over.
He poked her again. "Wake up sleepy head!" Barely avoiding a kick in the stomach, Van stepped back from the vicious Hitomi as she shrugged off her covers and slouched over in visible grouchiness.
"Why do you do that to me every morning?" She demanded in irritation, knuckles rubbing the sleepiness away from her eyes.
Van tried to wipe away the evil grin from his face and failed miserably, earning himself a glare from the grumpy Hitomi and laughters from the Allen and the rest. As Hitomi rolled up her blanklets and helped clear up the campfire, it all seemed so surreal to her: her arriving back in Gaea, the mission she had gotten entangled in and the mystery of it all, being with her dear old friends that had changed during these five years... For many months after arriving back in Earth, she sometimes doubted whether Gaea really existed. Being back in Gaea again made her realise how solid her memories were and how strange life could be.
"Guys, come on, even I have difficulty waking up in the evening and travelling by night!" Celena suddenly chirped in, breaking into Hitomi's self introspection.
"See! At least someone understands!" Hitomi linked arms with Celena and they walked out of the cave and Chid ran after them chuckling quietly.
"Even after 5 years, there's so much of her that remains the same¡" Van commented quietly. Allen glanced at his best friend. In the past 5 years, he had never seen him so relaxed. The tensions in his shoulder were gone and he looked completely at peace. In a flash, Van had changed into a simple man and not a king with the weight of his country on his shoulders.
"You really love her don't you?" It was not a question, Van looked back at his friend and smiled. All of a sudden, Allen had difficulty smiling back. There is a thin line between love and hate. Allen shuddered and wondered where that ominous thought had suddenly come from.
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The Keeper paced in front of the two dragons slowly, her claws scrapping the old rocks of the dark cave.
"I truly wonder if this could be the hour where we dragons shall soon have our revenge if our Watchers cannot even live up to their name," She commented and her scales of pure gold seemed to harden with her obvious displeasure.
"We deeply regret our failure," began one dragon on the left.
"Only death can atone for our ineptitude for we have failed our brothers and you," finished the dragon on the right.
"Do not be so hasty to die Kesh," She admonished ever so gently before she continued sadly, "our numbers have already dwindled considerably over the years, while the humans continue to multiply in disgusting numbers!" Her tail cracked the floor in anger.
"Do you think these two are to blame, Whisperer?" She threw the question suddenly at her advisor.
"No, noble Keeper... The magic spell that was cast was too cunning for their detection. After all, she was the most powerful wizard Guardian in all of history. It must have been frighteningly easy for her to cast a protective barrier around the city which at the same time masked their escape. If we hadn't captured that human who had been stupid enough to leave the barrier, we might have discovered this even later," he advised cautiously.
"For once, I agree with you," the Keeper smiled. "Kesh and Kith, the two of you are pardoned."
"We are ever thankful for your graciousness," they intoned solemnly.
"Then go and track them down and report back to me," She commanded sharply. As they turned to leave, she added, "But do not fight them, you are not their match."
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Hitomi yawned as she carefully turned a page. The book was so old, the library scribes in Fanelia should have copied its contents out ages ago. Blearily she scanned the contents of this page, it was terribly early in the morning, maybe she should have retired to bed like the others. She still was not sure why she had to torment herself by staying up to read about something she did not really understand. All of a sudden, she looked up and blinked.
"Morning Hitomi," Van greeted amiably before he sat down beside her. She punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"How long have you been standing there? I was really freaked out to realise that I was being... watched," she complained.
"You must really have been concentrating on what you were reading then," Van commented idly, stretching his arms out before him. "And this must be the reason why you are so hard to wake up."
"You¡¯re terrible! Stop reminding me about my sleeping habits already," she pouted before a smile betrayed her. Van grinned. He leaned over her shoulder to peer at the book.
"What are those funny symbols and patterns?" he asked curiously.
"I found it in YOUR library you dolt. It's a book on Magic," Hitomi passed it over to Van for inspection.
"You can understand all this?" he asked incredulously as he leafed through the pages. Hitomi shook her head.
"Nope, but I think the person living in my head knew a great deal about it. I want to understand her more..." Hitomi took back the book and traced the faded engravings on the leather cover.
"Well, at least yours is more sane than mine," Van put his hand over hers on the grass and they shared a sweet moment of silence. "But you are still Hitomi Kanzaki okay? And I¡¯m still Van Fanel. Okay?"
Hitomi looked at him, concern written all over her face. Their private moment was broken by the brilliant pulsing of the pendant around Hitomi¡¯s neck and Hitomi grabbed Van and pulled him into the safety of the shadows of the nearby trees.
"What is it?" he whispered as softly as possible. Dragons, Hitomi mouthed silently and Van's entire body stiffened and Hitomi held his hand tighter to restrain him. She pointed above their heads at their left.
In those tense moments as they tried to pitifully sink into the scratchy tree bark, Hitomi noticed distantly that they were still holding hands and holding onto each other as they always had. It felt good and ... it felt right.
Closing her eyes, she traced their movements. Her breathing slowed and the pendant pulsed steadily. Her lips pressed themeselves into a dim line. They were searching for something, it did not take a genius to guess who they were looking for.
Van was looking intently at Hitomi for guidance and saw her eyes snap open in fear. As he stared deep into those green pools, he saw what was happening through her mind's eye: Chid had left the safety of their camp site to relieve himself and the dragons had spotted him as well. With no time left to lose, the king spread open his wings, grabbed a startled Hitomi and sped to Chid.
Distracted from their sumptious breakfast, they blinked their gigantic eyes in surprise at the presence of the humans they had been commanded to find. Hitomi backed away as Van flashed out his sword. The two dragons were a beautiful sight to behold both were a matching deep blue, the precious colour of the ocean with wings that tapered off into a delicate sky blue. As Hitomi wondered if they were twins, they lifted off into the sky suddenly.
She heard Van swear and curse. "They are going to report to their leaders!"
Panic gripped Hitomi's heart and strange runes from the book she had been flipping through flashed before her eyes. Words she did not understand came easily to her mouth and the relatively still air around the dragons whipped into a frenzy and the dragons careened back to the ground. Heart racing, Hitomi backed away from what she had done and what she did not understand. She saw Van throw a confused and slightly frightened glance at her before he leapt forward and slashed at the heart of the nearest dragon.
Murky green liquid sprang forth.
Dragon's blood.
It made her want to puke. From the corner of her eye, she saw Chid staring at her. For the first time, those innocent blue eyes, the colour of the dragon's scales, looked warily at her. This was unlike the time when she had lost control of her mind and body. She knew that as she had incantated the spell, she knew what was going to happen.
What was she?
An angry cry from the surviving dragon, focused her attention back on the scene before her. Although badly injured, the dragon was dying to avenge his brother. Van scrambled back from the vicious advances.
"Let's get inside the caverns!" He commanded. The three fled back into the cool darkness of the cavern, dimly hearing the dragon squeezing his way through the narrow opening. Allen and Celena were already gesturing them to follow deeper into the cavern where the tunnels got smaller and tighter.
They heard the dragon bellow in anger, "how could you do this to your kin!"
Van and Hitomi glanced at each other, wondering why they could understand what he was saying. Their mad flight down the caverns were propelled primarily by fear of the persistence of the dragon's pursuit.
It all ended abruptly as the tunnel opened into a huge room, wide, stretching high up and with no exit. Everyone turned their attention to the tunnel they had emerged from and saw a tattered dragon squeeze itself through, already bloody and half-dead, its golden eyes burned with crazed anger. Celena knew she had seen such an expression before, a long time ago when she had looked into the mirror as Dilandau. She heard her brother suggesting to Van a quick tactic to attack the dragon from both sides before he got through the opening.
"Van! Did you hear me?!" Allen shouted. Celena turned around and saw Van vacantly staring at the room they were in.
"I've been here before..." he muttered. A sharp pain sliced through his mind. "I was also chased, driven down here, running for my life..." He remembered the wetness of the soil, the tunnel widths that were barely big enough for him, the pain involved in ignoring his broken claws. Claws? And when he arrived here, there was a dragon that had pursued him as well. A strange white mist began to fill the room.
The sapphire dragon finally slipped through the opening and bellowed darkly, his call echoing and revebrating against the steep walls of the room, until there was no space left for any other noise. It was a bone-chilling noise and everyone covered their ears.
"Stop chasing me," someone said calmly. Chid tried to peer through the fog.
"Who's there!" Chid demanded of the new voice, deep, resonant and in-human.
"We will finish our fued today," he continued as the fog died down and Celena's heart leaped to her throat, there was another dragon in the room, his shape dimly visible through the fog. Almost instantly, the shape moved and slashed at the sapphire dragon.
Blood and chaos followed. Allen took on the role of protecting them, leading them closer and closer to the entrance while following the circumference of the wall as the battle continued near the centre. Celena had to forcibly drag Hitomi along, she was shivering and distant. She wondered where Van was and why the stupid fog was taking so long to die down.
All of a sudden, the battle ended, one dragon lay motionless on the ground and the fog died down almost as quickly.
A black dragon stood in the middle of the ancient room, ancient stalagites from above reflecting its obsidian scales. It stared at the dead carcass with eyes like sad autumn leaves. It was majestic in its loneliness, a beautiful huge statue in nature's inmost cavern.
"Escaflowne," Chid breathed. Everyone recognised it at once. A machine come alive like a legend stepping off the pages of story books.
It was black.
Hitomi moved quietly towards it, before anyone could stop her and she stood in front of it. Celena watched as the maiden stood in front of the monster, the vicious beast. There was no knight. Her brother knew he could do nothing, the monster was his best friend.
"Van," Hitomi called quietly, the dragon lifted its round opals from the dead body to the human in front of him but made no other motion. "Van, I remember how I chased you down here."
All of a sudden, another dragon stood in Hitomi's place, its scales a magnificent wonder to behold, a strange mixture of diamonds and iridescent pearly white, they were all the shades in the world and yet united in their brilliance.
Celena had never believed in reincarnation but her beliefs were shaken as she looked at the two dragons in front of her, two shades from the past, out of a different era, meeting again in a timeless cavern deep down near the centre of the earth.
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