Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, nothing more to say.
Forgotten by Destiny
By Ryoko Porter
Part Nineteen
Hitomi clutched the side of her face that was hit. It hurt, but she was thankful that Merle hadn't used her claws. She also didn't feel any anger toward the other woman; Hitomi knew that she had no right. She'd personally destroyed the poor creature, ripping the man she loved from her. A bruised cheek was a small price to pay for her own happiness.
Van was completely lost, Hitomi knew. She could understand his confusion on how he should react. He was beside her, full of comforting worry over her. But he showed no sign of chastising Merle, which was completely forgivable for Hitomi.
It was Merle that seemed to be taking the violent ordeal the worst. She wasn't quiet in her grief, as she'd fallen to her knees in sobs. It seemed as though she'd finally fallen off the edge of the cliff she'd been standing on since she was thirteen. Her body shivered viciously in her pain, as though she were cold. She was utterly alone, as both Hitomi and Van could finally see.
'Why did you have to steal my destiny? Why couldn't you have left him to me?' Merle chanted, though it was hard to understand her through the sobs.
Hitomi and Van watched in shock and horror, as Merle's body was slowly enveloped by a red light. The shine originating from the jewel around her neck, it wrapped around her almost lovingly. Its power seemed to calm the hysterical woman, her tears and wails receding into memory. When Merle finally tilted her head to face them, they could see that the power had influenced her. Her eyes were cold and dead, though they shown red.
'Now I will show you the power of this jewel, Hitomi. You never used it to its potential,' Merle's now cold and mocking voice said, though her lips didn't seem to move. The light changed from its hot red, to a cool blue. Even the gem changed its color, the new icy color reflecting the emotions of the woman who wielded it.
Van called out to Merle as her body lifted into the air. Hitomi also called out to her, apologizing, if only to stop her from doing anything drastic. Merle hung weightlessly as high as any Guymelef, the wind playing with her, only to make her look more menacing. For long agonizingly quiet moments, she stayed whatever power she had to look upon the land she'd grown up in. Van even dared to hope that she would stop whatever she was planning.
But peace was not to be. After watching the land, Merle focused the energy into a bullet of blue power. Then it shot off into the city, landing with explosive power. The entire city shook, and people could be heard screaming. But until the dust cleared, no one could see the sort of damage it had done.
End Part 19.