A/N: Hello hello again readers! Thanx so very much for all the encouraging reviews…I'm happy no one thought it was bad enough to say anything. So, good news, I just watched my new Escaflowne box-set twice…so I have a pretty good grasp on the characters now, and enough information to make my plotline polished. So, pretty good news for y'all. I hope you enjoy!
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Key to Atlantis:
Chapter Two: A Dragon and a Cat:
Hitomi didn't move for what seemed to her a few hours, just staring ahead at the lush trees of one of Gaea's forests and contemplating what had just happened to her. It seemed impossible that only moments ago she had just graduated from high school, and only twelve hours ago she had dreamt that horrible image of Van and Fanelia. Nevertheless, she was back on Gaea, just like she had wished for the past two years,but now that she was here, she had no idea what to do. She slowly raised her head to look up at the Earth and the moon hanging in the sky, a faint outline hiding behind the fluffy clouds hanging in the foreign sky, and narrowed her eyes in resolution as she pushed herself off the ground.
"Well," she said to herself as she brushed some dirt off her black robes. "It won't do me any good to just sit around here and mope; I need to find someone who can tell me where I am. I guess I can't really wear this black robe around either…"
She heaved a sigh, regretful that she would not be able to give her parents her gown to save, and shrugged off the stuffy clothing, leaving her in the short, turquoise bohemian skirt, and blue flip-flops. She looked down at her feet, wishing she was wearing her trusty sneakers, but resigned herself to discomfort until she could find some sort of boots in a town and started to walk through the forest. She judged what direction she was headed by looking at the moss on the trees, guessing that Fanelia was somewhere near the north, but she soon found herself horribly lost.
"Oh, these look like the Fanelian dragon forests, but why can't I find the city?" Hitomi asked herself as the sun started to set and weariness began to wear at her resolve. "Everything looks so much different, like it's wild and untamed…where is everyone? I thought Ruhm and his clan lived in these woods, oh where am I?"
She stopped and turned around in a hopeless circle, praying that something would jog her memory and tell her what direction to go, but nothing did. Letting out a strangled sob of exhaustion, anger, and sadness, Hitomi sank to her knees and let the tears flow down her face, not caring about her dignity at this point. It wasn't until she wiped her face with her bare arm after a few moments had passed that she realized she was still gripping the pink pendant in her left hand, the trinket forgotten in her initial shock of arriving in Gaea. She gazed at the small, pink stone, an inner battle waging itself in her mind on what she should do.
'If I use the pendant to dowse, I can find my way out of this forest…or at least to someone who can help me. But, I haven't dowsed in two years, and I promised myself that I wouldn't again, the visions not worth the knowledge. Oh, why does it have to be so hard to decide what to do! I'm almost a grown woman and I'm still acting like a child. What would Van do?'
Her emerald eyes narrowed in determination as she thought of what Van would do, he would use the pendant and face his fears, so that was what she needed to do. She would find her way faster this way anyhow. She steadied her shaking limb and held the pendant directly in front of her, closing her eyes as she pictured Fanelia in her mind. She felt the familiar presence sink back into her mind, focusing all of her thought on Fanelia and its raven-haired ruler, and the picture suddenly showed itself just like it used to.
"Van's parents' graves?" Hitomi asked herself when she reopened her eyes and pushed herself back onto her tired legs. "That's where I need to go? Why not Fanelia? It's so strange…but that's where the pendant said to go. I guess I was right, I am in the Dragon forests of Fanelia."
She placed the pendant around her neck in a swift motion, gathered up her black robe and I-Pod, and headed in the direction her vision had pointed her too, a place she remembered well from her last visit to Gaea. It was where she had left Van. Her paced quickened with renewed vigor as she briskly walked down the now darkened path. It didn't take her half as long as she thought it would to reach her destination, only an hour or so, the clearing where ancient nobles of house Fanel were laid to rest bathed in the bright light coming from the Mystic Moon, the Earth.
Hitomi glanced around the tombstones of Gaou and Folken Fanel, pausing at the younger man's grave for a moment in respect for his tormented soul. "I hope you are at peace now Folken," she whispered as she gently placed a hand on the monument, tears springing into her eyes. "I hope you are happy."
She turned her attention back to the entire glade, searching for anything that might suggest her aid was near, but finding nothing. She was about to call out when she suddenly whirled back around to the huge tree that Escaflowne had been put to sleep at. It wasn't there anymore! Hitomi's eyes went wide at the sight, knowing that if the huge guymelef wasn't rested here, it was being used in battle.
"Oh Van," Hitomi gasped as she fell to her knees, the horrible image of him from the prior night filling her thoughts. "Please be all right, please don't be using Escaflowne!" She sat there for a while, choking sobs of worry and fear echoing from her body from time to time, until her dead-tired body finally gave in to the sometimes comfort of sleep.
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'What is that sound? I know that sound…it's the tune Folken used to whistle, an old Fanelian song. Where is it coming from?'
Hitomi's eyes fluttered open, the quiet whistle awaking her from the recharging slumber, and she blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the dreary gray sky that accompanied the early hours of the morning. When she wiped the last of the sleep from her eyes and stretched her sore limbs was when she noticed the two large, deep maroon eyes staring at her in curiosity.
"WHAAAA!" Hitomi screamed in alarm as she pushed herself off the ground quick as a mongoose and stared at the creature in front of her, alarm now being replaced with her own curiosity mingled with surprise as she recognized what it was. "It's a dragon…"
Sure enough, in front of the astonished green-eyed girl was a dragon, but not like the ones Hitomi had seen before. This one, while still large, was slender and no bigger than an elephant in height, its sinuous muscles on display for Hitomi to see as it crouched in front of her. It was a pure white color, with a deep purple stripe running down its spine,and had a large magenta colored patch on its gleaming chest. The spikes that protruded from its spine were also a magenta color, but soon Hitomi found herself staring back into the large, beautiful maroon eyes it had. However, Hitomi did not feel any fear in her body anymore, for it looked nothing like any of the other dragons she had seen before.
"You're beautiful," Hitomi whispered to the majestic looking dragon sitting in front of her, regarding her as a cat would regard its master, in polite curiosity.
"Thank you child of the Mystic Moon."
"WHAA!" Hitomi yelped again as she looked around for the source of the voice that had interrupted into her thoughts. "Who said that! Where are you!"
"Please do not yell so loudly child, it is not the safest of times in Gaea at the moment."
Hitomi froze in mid-spin, her mind registering who exactly was speaking to her, and she turned slowly on her heel to face the white dragon again, who was now wearing an expression of amusement at her astonishment. "Is it…is it you? Are talking to me?"
"Very good, I'd be disappointed if you could not figure out who was speaking to you. I had always heard that beings from the Mystic Moon were intelligent folk."
"But how are you talking!" Hitomi exclaimed, her surprise only heightened at the dragon's confirmation. "None of the other dragons could talk! Or, at least Van never mentioned they could…anyway, why are you talking to me now? And why do you look so different from the other dragons?"
"So, you are the girl who accompanied the Draconian all those years ago. That is good; I was growing tired of waiting for you to come."
"You know Van!" Hitomi asked in excitement, forgetting what the dragon said about not speaking loudly. "Where is he? Are we near Fanelia? How do you know him?"
"I know him better than anything in this world…do you not recognize me Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon? Do you not see the old form I had mingled with the new?"
Hitomi looked at the dragon in curiosity, now wondering why it looked so familiar to her. She had seen that color of magenta before in Gaea, and the color of purple that spiraled down its back reminded her of a long lost image of a vision she had once had. It was when she looked into its maroon eyes that she knew what it was that she was looking at…those were Van's eyes.
"You're Escaflowne," Hitomi breathed in an overwhelmed voice, her own mind not daring to believe what she had just said.
"Correct again Hitomi," the dragon said in a polite voice as it gracefully walked towards the girl. "I am Escaflowne, once an Ispano guymelef that was bonded in more than apparent ways with the half Draconian king of Fanelia, and now a corporal dragon. I have been waiting for you to once come and aid Gaea like you once did in the Destiny Wars. You are needed in more than one way now Hitomi…more than what is apparent."
"Why?" Hitomi asked in a small voice, her legs feeling like they would collapse at any time. "Why do you need my help? Where is Van? Why are you now a dragon? What is going on here?"
"Gaea has changed much in the time you have been absent Hitomi. Why I am now a dragon is still unknown to me, but I do know that I am here to aid you in your quest. I cannot tell you all of what has happened here in Gaea, so we must find the only left who can…the cat woman called Merle."
"Merle!" Hitomi exclaimed in surprise, her saddened eyes now rose to look into the maroon ones. "Why only her? What about Van, Allen, Millerna? Why can't I talk to Van…why aren't you with him?"
The dragon's eyes filled with sadness as it said, "He is lost Hitomi. I do not know where he is, but you might, and that is why you are here. Do you recall the vision you had before you were transported here once more? It is there that you will find the answers to what you ask…but you need to be aware of the dangers that now beset this land. That is why we must find Merle, she is the only one nearby who may help us, and she resides in a village rather than a city, so we will not be spotted so easily by Zaibach."
Hitomi was silent, halfway registering what Escaflowne said after it spoke of Vans fate. He was lost, and Hitomi could only feel that it was her fault once again, just like her visions caused all that sorrow once upon a time ago. She felt tears form once again, threatening to spill down her smooth cheeks, as she thought of not being able to see Van again, but she pushed those thoughts away angrily and wiped her eyes before looking again at the white dragon.
"If we find Merle, and I tell her about my vision, will I be able to find where Van is?" Hitomi asked in a determined, but still shaky voice, her emerald eyes flaming in passion.
"I feel that we would be able to child. His help is needed to restore the order to Gaea that has been disrupted. Are you willing to accept this charge child of the Mystic Moon?"
"Yes," Hitomi whispered, her hand once again gripping the pink pendant hanging from her neck as if she was afraid it would disappear. "I am. I'll help find Van and fix whatever is wrong with Gaea, I owe that much to this land."
The dragon nodded at her in approval, its maroon eyes a twinkle as if it had a huge secret. "Yes, you will do perfectly child. I had my doubts for some time, but I believe you are the right one for my master…you care very much for him do you not? He does for you; he always has…nothing ever made it abate. Of course he did not understand what he was feeling, a curse of his human heritage no doubt, your kind are the most fickle beings in their feelings I have ever seen."
"Umm yes," Hitomi said as a blush crept onto her cheeks, the dragon's words making her feel like a lovesick little girl again. "So, where do we need to go to find Merle? Fanelia?"
"No child. We must go to the city of Arzas, and there we will find a guide to Merle…please do not ask how I know, I just do. It is yet another mystery of my current existence, another mystery that will hopefully be discovered with your help."
Hitomi nodded in understanding, as she suddenly felt the familiar light-headed feeling overcome her. She saw flashes of her vision again, of the lone white dragon that was not sure if it should exist. Escaflowne was the dragon from her vision! She was about to contemplate more of her vision and its meanings when she felt the large form of Escaflowne next to her, surprising her so bad she jumped. "Hey! What are you doing!"
"It would be best if we headed out towards Arzas now while it is still early in the morning. Less likely we will be seen by…unfriendly folk. I do not intend to walk the way, we do not have that kind of time anyhow, so you will be riding me and I will fly to Arzas."
"I have to ride you?" Hitomi asked nervously as she glanced up into the dragon's eyes again. When she received a nod, Hitomi steeled herself and mounted the dragon, carefully though in the short skirt she was wearing, and seated herself in between the wings, her legs on either side of the dragon's neck and her arms wrapped around the neck as well. "Like this?"
"That will do fine child. I suggest you try not to scream, as it will attract unwanted attention, but breathe in deeply and in time with your heartbeat. You will get used to flying quickly I think, it is similar to when I was a guymelef in dragon form. Hold tight."
Hitomi kept the scream inside as Escaflowne pushed off the ground, unfurling its large, white wings and flapping mightily to gain altitude. Hitomi felt her stomach drop, and thought she might hurl if she had food in her stomach as they continued to climb high into the sky to be hidden by the gray clouds of the morning. Finally, Escaflowne leveled out and silently glided through the air, occasionally flapping its mighty wings to remain aloft, giving Hitomi some time to contemplate everything she had learned from the dragon. Most things were still hidden in murkiness form her, only for sure knowing that Van was in trouble and that Gaea was in danger again, but she was sure that everything would be clear once she talked with Merle.
'Things are sure strange Hitomi,' she thought to herself as they flew closer to Arzas. ' Escaflowne's a talking dragon, Van's missing, and I'm going to Merle for information…nothing is ever normal with me is it? Oh, I hope I find out what's wrong here soon…'
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It was another dark day in the capital of Zaibach as a black-robed creature glided down a hallway of the enormous palace that housed the emperor of the new Zaibach Empire. It spoke to nothing, because nothing wanted to speak to it. It was one of the Ferra, mysterious beings that aided the emperor and the armies of Zaibach, but beings that were not human in any way. They were cold creatures, cloaked in darkness and shrouded in mysteries, mysteries that not one person of the Zaibach empire wanted to solve.
Because of this, the unnamed Ferra was able to make its way unfettered, its mind deep in thought as it remembered the tremor that appeared in Gaea earlier that morning. It was an inconvenience that it could not afford, but one that it had not a clue on how to get near to. The legendary dragon was with her now…it would need to be patient. Nothing was going to interfere with the plans its kind had placed in motion all those years ago, not even the infamous seeress from the Mystic Moon.
" Zorbane!" a booming voice said from behind the Ferra named Zorbane. " I want to know why you felt compelled to send a troop of my Elitists out to an unimportant city in the north! Am I not the Emperor of this empire? Those troops are needed in a more pertinent place, where unrest still breeds, a place like Draboch!"
" Lord Salodin," Zorbane answered in a hiss of deference as he bowed his robed form to the intimidating looking ruler ahead of him. " I am sorry to have acted without your consent, but I felt a tremor in Gaea near that area, a tremor that may be a potential threat. I understand your aggravation with the Black Rose, but this seemed like a wise choice to make, please forgive me impudence my Lord."
" Get up," Salodin said in disgust as he flicked his wrist and started to walk back towards his quarters, the Ferra following him. " You should be aiding me against that damn Fallan and his band of miscreants, not worrying over some "tremor" you felt with your black magic! However, I'll concede this time and let you do what you will, I just better get my Elitists back before we obliterate the Black Rose!"
Zorbane watched in mild amusement as the large man stormed off, meeting his advisors at the end of the hall, the man's long black hair flapping every which way in his anger. The Ferra turned around and softly headed back towards his original destination, an old abandoned part of the palace that once housed Dornkirk's Fate Alteration Machine. He was not concerned about the Emperor's anger towards him, knowing all too well that Salodin lacked the power or support to oppose him or his brethren.
Once he arrived in the large and ancient room, Zorbane lowered his cowl to reveal the unearthly features concealed underneath. The skin was pale and stretched across the bone, the slits of black for the eyes and black lips the only color on his face. He was a nightmare straight out of the monster stories, a monster that cared for nothing but power. His scabbed and clammy hands rested on the broken and musty machine that sat in the middle of the room, and he let out a mirthless chuckle, something that would have frightened even the bravest of men into small boys.
" Hitomi Kanzaki," he hissed to himself as he pictured what he had detected that morning. " Poor child, the world you knew is not what it is now. You should not have been able to return, and yet, somehow you have…bravo little girl. I wonder if you will wish to remain here once you have discovered what is really in store for you…"
He chuckled again, his hissing voice sounding deadly in the cavernous room, before he swept back on his cowl and proceeded to walk back to the Emperor. He needed to be informed of certain things after all, but not of everything.
" Just wait Salodin," Zorbane hissed quietly to himself as he shut the door on the forgotten room where fate had once been decided. " The time of humans is coming to an end…and I'll be sure to let you be among to first to realize it. Once the Key is in our hands, this world and the world of the Mystic Moon will be under our control."
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" Are we almost there Escaflowne?" Hitomi yelled as the white dragon took another dive to avoid a gust of wind in the clouds. " I don't know how much more I can take of this!"
" Yes child, we are almost there. Now, I cannot accompany you into the city, I am a bit to conspicuous. I will await your call in a nearby forest, and you can contact me by using your pendant. Remember your vision and you will find what we need to find Merle, do you understand?"
" Yes," Hitomi gritted out as Escaflowne took another dive, this time not leveling back out, but plummeting towards the forested ground below. She felt like she was on some type of terrifying roller-coaster, one that did not seem to end, so she screwed her eyes shut, wishing that it would be over soon. Sure enough, she felt a slight shudder as the white dragon landed on the ground with a slight THUDD. She slid off its back, feeling slight inertia in her legs after sitting on the dragon for the entire morning, and looked up at the big maroon eyes gazing down at her kindly.
" Thank you," Hitomi said with a dazzling smile as she hugged Escaflowne around the neck. " Thanks for not letting me fall."
" I could not allow that child. My master would be most upset with me if I was to let that happen. I promise you young seeress, I will make sure nothing happens to you on this quest. I will protect you like Van would."
" You know what?" Hitomi asked quietly as she let the presence that reminded her of Van warm and calm her soul. " I feel as if he's here right now, you were such an integral part of him. I think we can really do this Escaflowne…we will find him!"
The dragon looked at her, appreciation filling its eyes and nodded its majestic head at her words in agreement. " Hitomi, the town is right through the clearing ahead. Your clothes look a bit unusual, but as long as you do not draw attention to yourself, it will be all right. If you should get into trouble, call to me with the pendant and I will come. Be careful child."
" I will," Hitomi said with a determined gleam in her bright emerald orbs. She turned on her heel and set off through the clearing towards the town of Arzas.
It didn't take her nearly as long as she thought t would, her path completely cleared for her as she trudged towards the small city, which she could see immediately after clearing the trees. It looked like a trading town from first glance, and the closer Hitomi came to it the more she came to believe that. She was able to walk in relatively unnoticed into the town; she had used her graduation robe to make a cloak of sorts to hide her clothes from the townsfolk. She had been expecting to find a happy little hamlet here, hidden away from most of the larger cities of Gaea, but instead she had found a town that seemed to be I fear and on edge. Her smiles were met with hollow stares of downtrodden people, and before long, she found their gloom settling into her.
' What's happened here?' Hitomi thought to herself as she walked past a butcher shop, her eyes filling with pity for these poor people she saw. ' It's like they have lost their sparkle of life…their will to live. What's wrong with all of them?'
She paused at a flower stand, admiring the only bright things in the town, when a young boy tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a pink and white pansy. He smiled shyly at her and mumbled softly, " You're really pretty," before he took back off, sprinting down the street and leaving Hitomi standing there. She smiled and tucked the flower behind her longer, brown hair and turned back around to find a large soldier wearing a modified Zaibach uniform in front of her. She gave a small gasp and backed away quickly, only to find the soldier's arm snake out just as fast and grasp her arm.
" Little lady," the soldier said in a leering voice, his eyes roaming down her frame and back up to her frightened face. " Where you heading off to? Me and friends would be happy to guide you there."
" Uh," Hitomi said nervously, her eyes darting to and fro looking for help that was not there. " Why do you think I would need a guide? I've lived here almost my whole life you know. I know how to find my way to the…to the blacksmith just fine."
" Why would a pretty thing like you need to go to the blacksmith?" the soldier enquired further, a suspicious tone to his drunken voice now.
" Oh, I'm picking up something for my father," Hitomi lied quickly, her own voice getting higher as he grasped her arm tighter. " He's ill you see, asked if I would pick up an order of horseshoes he placed last week. Please, I need to get them now."
" Oh I don't think so little lady," the soldier said with a humorless grin, pulling out his sword form his scabbard. " You seem mighty strange to me, I think I better take you to see the Captain."
" No please!" Hitomi exclaimed, pulling against his hold as he started to drag her away. She felt so helpless, not being able to protect herself for that long at all, but she didn't want to call Escaflowne and risk his safety. She felt her free hand grasp her pendant tightly, hoping that it would show her an answer to help her out of this predicament.
" HEY!" a high, angered voice yelled out, causing both Hitomi's and the soldiers' heads to whirl around. " You stupid soldiers let her go! She said she knew where she's going, and doesn't need your help, so leave her alone! If you don't, I WILL tell theCaptain about this…what time would this be for you boys? Three, four times now? Let her go now."
The soldiers grumbled among them for a minute or two before they signaled the one grasping Hitomi's arm to let her go. He did so, grudgingly albeit, and murmured to Hitomi quietly, " I'll be keeping my eyes on you girl…better keep that little cat-thing around you next time," and then left as quickly as he had appeared with his fellow soldiers.
" Wow, you sure are stupid, not many girls would let themselves get cornered by the Zaibach Elitists. 'Father sent me to the blacksmith' honestly, it's not even a good lie."
" Well I-" Hitomi started to argue back, until she saw just who she was about to argue with. In front of her was a short, cat girl with white fur and black hair. Her paw-like hands were resting on her hips, and her light blue eyes were peering at Hitomi curiously. She looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, and looked an awful lot like, " Merle!"
" What did you call me?" the cat girl asked dangerously, her teasing demeanor gone in an instant, and her paws now showing claws against Hitomi's face. " How do you know Merle? Are you a Zaibach spy, talk now!"
" N-no," Hitomi answered shakily, her hand now gripping her pendant again for reassurance. " I'm not a spy…you just looked like her is all. I'm an old friend of hers, I'm actually looking for her. Can you help me, my name is Hitomi Kanzaki, I'm sure she would remember me."
The cat girl backed off her slowly, confusion now marring the anger in her face. She was looking at Hitomi as if she had just seen a ghost, but then she finally lowered her arms back to her sides, a sign to the brown-haired seeress of peace. " Did you say your name is Hitomi Kanzaki?"
" Yes!" Hitomi said happily that the cat girl understood her. " I'm so glad I fou--"
" Not so loud stupid," the girl hissed as she clamped a hand over Hitomi's mouth and dragged her back into an alleyway, hidden from the streets. " Do you want every soldier in the Zaibach empire to hear you! Geez…you must be that girl from the Mystic Moon. Why do you need to see Merle?"
" Because," Hitomi said as she spat out fur from her mouth. " I was told she could tell me what happened to Van and Gaea."
" King Van Fanel of Fanelia!" the girl asked in a breathless voice, her blue eyes wide with hope.
" Yes, why are you--"
" Never mind," the cat girl interrupted as she started to lead Hitomi through the alleyway, finding crevices and passages that were hidden from Hitomi's sight. " By the way, my name is Sari…where do I need to take you?"
" Um, the forest," Hitomi said in a confused voice as Sari led her down a right passageway. " A friend is waiting for me there…if you tell him or maybe her where to go, we'll get to Merle much faster!"
" All right," Sari said in a distracted tone as she continued to lead Hitomi through winding paths and tunnels. In hardly no time at all, Hitomi found herself outside the town once more and on the cusp of the forest. Sari gave the green eyed girl a smug face and said, " Well, here we are… a lot faster than if you led the way I'm sure. Where do we go now?"
" Uh, this way," Hitomi said, pointing left after consulting her pendant for a moment. The two girls walked in silence for a while, Hitomi feeling Sari's eyes on her every now and then as if she was making sure she was who she said she was. " By the way," Hitomi said after she felt uncomfortable from all of Sari's stares. " How did you know all those passages threw the city? I couldn't even see them."
" Well," the cat girl said in a superior tone that annoyed Hitomi. " I HAVE lived there most of my life…you have to learn to avoid the Zaibach bastards when you're a beast person, or else you can get into trouble. It's stupid girls like you that I spend my time helping out, not that any of them ever say thank you."
" Oh," Hitomi said softly, feeling sorry that people like Merle and this Sari were still mistreated in Gaea. She was instantly reminded of Naria and her twin Eriya. This girl, Sari, reminded her of Naria, she certainly was pretty enough, but it was her attitude that plucked up the image of the silver cat woman in Hitomi's mind. It was then that Hitomi saw her tail.
It was severed halfway down, leaving an ugly scar of flesh covering the wound where no fur grew. Hitomi felt the light-headed feeling straight away, and suddenly her image was filled with what she had seen a day ago at her graduation, except, it only showed the shadow of a cat girl, one whose sadness was cloaked under a mask of happiness, and a severed tail, both spiritual and actual.
" Hitomi?" Sari asked as the seeress swooned, grabbing one of her arms to support her. " Are you okay? You look kind of sick."
" I'm fine Sari," Hitomi said as she steadied herself with Sari's help. " I just…I just saw something is all."
" So you really can see things?" Sari asked, a contemplative look crossing her features. " I thought that part was just a legend…I guess not."
" Just a legend?" Hitomi asked in annoyance. " It's not like it's been that long since I was last here. Okay, so it has been two years, but that's not that long when you think about it."
" TWO YEARS!" Sari exclaimed, causing Hitomi to jump in alarm at the cat girl's sudden change. " What are you talking about! It's been a lot lo--"
Sari was interrupted from her tirade when Escaflowne's white form glided in front of the two girls, a warning look shooting at Sari's frozen form.
" Hitomi needs to speak with Merle young cat. I ask that you tell me where we might find her so I can take you both there as soon as possible."
" Uh," Sari stuttered, astonished that she was speaking with a beautiful white dragon with deep maroon eyes. " Our village of Jeroma is on the other side of this forest, to the west of Azras, towards Maboch. It's nestled next to a lake, I can navigate us there."
" Thank you child. Hitomi, help Sari onto my back and we will be off. I'd rather not tarry around Azras longer than needs be."
" Okay" Hitomi said in a daze, so confused about what was going on, but deciding to keep it to herself for the moment. She helped a reluctant and nervous Sari onto Escaflowne's back before mounting herself, and told the cat girl to wrap her arms around the dragon's neck tight before wrapping her own arms around the girl's middle. The take-off wasn't as bad this time for Hitomi, and she spent most of the ride distractedly comforting a near hysterical Sari, but her thoughts mulling over the information both revealed and kept hidden to her.
' What is going on here? What the heck is Maboch, and why did Sari flip when I said I'd only been gone for two years? Has it been longer than that! Oh, I hope Merle really can answer some of my questions…and tell me some sort of hint as to where Van is…'
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A/N: There it is guys! Told you I don't know how to write shorter chapters, and this wasn't even a long one! I hoped you guys likey! The next chapter will reveal what the hell has happened in Gaea, and give hints as to what happened to our dearest Van!
Did you guys like Sari, I tried to make her similar to Merle…I liked writing her character!
Remember, review, review, review! Until next time!
Osco