Fortune 20-But I Will Never Tell

The others had woken up to find Star missing. In a bit of a panic, Hitomi hurried the others along as fast as they could go and they went out in search of her missing cousin. "Why would she go ahead like that? It's dangerous!" Hitomi's voice came out as a squeak so she shook her head and tried again, this time her voice was more even if only slightly higher than normal.

"Because she didn't want the rest of us to be in danger," Blai chose his words carefully, thinking back on all the time he had spent with that strange young woman. The other stared at him in surprise and he shrugged the thought off his shoulders, "She said something along those lines to me when we were just starting." Had she said it, or had he just gathered that from the way he acted. It was strange how easy it was becoming to read the strange girl.

Hitomi smiled and seemed to visibly calm down, "You're right…"

"And panicking isn't going to help us find her any quicker," Chid said with a smile also on his face. Somehow that smile caused Blai's heart to sink to the bottom of his stomach and he felt it make a cold splash as it hit the acid lurking there. If the blond kept smiling like that, Blai was sure that his heart would soon be devoured by the acid.

Just as they were starting to make their way after the girl, Chid pulled his old friend aside. "I need to talk to you," he said suggestively, his eyes told Blai this was going to be a subject the blond was not fond of.

Star looked up at the castle looming in front of her; it was the same cold, dark place that she had escaped from years ago. That same dark place that filled her nightmares with the faces of the loved ones who had come to her aid and sacrificed their lives for the one she was wasting. She wouldn't waste any more of it wanting to die, now she was going to actually do something with it instead of watching it go by and waiting for it to end.

"We've been expecting you," a group of people, wearing those same cloaks and masks that burned in the girl's memory, walked out from inside the castle.

The girl stepped forward hesitantly, "Who's been expecting me?" Star couldn't help but ask.

One of the men chuckled but they did not say anything and instead they made their way back inside, not bothering to see if Star would follow, they knew she would. And, indeed, the teenager ran after them, not wanting to miss this opportunity to find out who it was that was calling to her, and to find the EscaFlowne as well.

"What is it?" Blai was fascinated with how even his voice sounded when his heart was hammering in his chest so loudly that he was surprised Chid wasn't covering his ears to block it out.

The blond sighed deeply and their eyes locked for a long moment before he broke away and looked everywhere but at his friend. "Listen, I know we both...like Star…" like was quite an understatement, but he went on. "I've been watching her while we were traveling and, well, I'm not going to continue with you. I'm going to go back to where Aunt Millerna and Uncle Dryden are waiting, find her for me?" he squeezed Blai's shoulder encouragingly, desperately, and finally brought his bright blue eyes back onto his old friend's face.

"What are you talking about?" Blai asked, not sure of how to take the situation.

"I mean, I don't have a chance with her," Chid's voice sounded slightly strained, "she's in love with someone else, even if she doesn't know it yet." He gave his friend a meaningful look but the naïve young prince still did not understand. Having once again regained his usual composure, the blond said farewell to his friend and walked back in the direction they had come, hoping to retrace his steps back to the crystal city.

Blai shook his head and wondered long and hard over what Chid had meant as he chased after his father and Hitomi who were at that point fairly far ahead of him.

The moment Star entered the castle all the lights flickered and the door slammed shut behind her. She turned around and saw two men standing in front of the great wooden doors with such a range of weapons between them that Star did not bother to study them. She took a deep breath and placed her hand reassuringly on the hilt of her blade as she followed her escorts through the maze of hallways while the sounds of their footsteps echoed eerily in the silence.

Hitomi stopped every so often to try and sense where her cousin had gone. At least twice they had to backtrack because they had gotten lost. How were they supposed to find Star when they couldn't even find out where they were themselves? Hitomi let out a sigh and Blai smiled inwardly, that one sound reflected everything he was feeling and he wished he could have let it out as well.

"Something doesn't feel right," Van said with his hand immediately on the hilt of his blade as he listened carefully to the world around them. "Let's hurry." What did he think they were trying to do? Blai and Hitomi exchanged glances, they knew better than to say anything.

"Who are you?" Star's voice carried in the dark room. Her escorts had left her at the door and said that she was to go inside. Curious, the girl had obeyed and as soon as she entered they closed the door tightly behind her. "Who are you?" Star asked again, hoping her eyes would adjust quickly. She didn't like feeling vulnerable and so focused all her senses on her surroundings. For all she knew, there could have been an ambush waiting for her there.

You've found me, the voice that Star had come to associate with the EscaFlowne boomed happily inside her head. It sounded like a child whose best friend found him after a day of being lost alone in the dark woods. I've been waiting for a long time.

I know, Star thought, I'm sorry. Before she could react, someone flung themselves on top of her and the teenage girl was knocked over onto the floor. "Turn on the lights!" Star's attacker yelled to someone the other girl could not see and immediately the darkness disappeared and she could see who was on top of her.

Star let out a gasp, it couldn't be…