A/N: I'm trying to get as much out as I can before my finals take over my life! Thanks again so much for all those reviews! They make me all warm inside! A few of you think you guys know where Van is…all very good guesses I must say, but not entirely correct. Oh, and as to the song in the last chapter…it did not make my chapter a 'songfic' per say, because she was singing the song to herself, which I wanted my characters to do in certain parts. I listen to music when I write because it helps me get my thoughts down much better, but I'm sorry if the IPod bothers anyone, I didn't think it would…sorry! I don't have a talent for poetry but I'll give it a shot okay?
This chapter is going to put a few if you into a frenzy I think! Well, enjoy!
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Key to Atlantis
Chapter Six: Schemes and Dreams:
The next morning was without incident, the usual breakfast rituals not interrupted by anything out of the ordinary, and the four companions were still smarting over their successful rescue attempt the night prior. Their newly recruited fifth member was not partaking in the early meal, as he had opted to clean up their campsite and was currently washing the dishes in a nearby brook, but only Hitomi seemed to be concerned about his quiet melancholy. Merle shrugged her shoulders in indifference when Hitomi voiced her worry for Loric de Jesep and Sari just teased her relentlessly with, "I thought you loved Van?" and would laugh until Hitomi dropped the subject.
She watched him return from washing all the dishes, her green eyes watching him closely for any signs as to why he seemed so taciturn, but his passive face revealed nothing to inform her of his mood. She caught his eyes, a question forming there clearly, but he answered before she could ask.
"I've decided to accompany you four on your journey after some thought," he explained to the others, if noticing their surprised faces not mentioning it. "It seems like the best course of action to help rid not only Maboch, but all of Gaea of those monsters…the Ferra. If not only Hitomi Kanzaki, the seeress from the Mystic Moon is trying to rid them of their stronghold, but also the legendary Esacflowne and Merle, than it is only right that I offer whatever help I can."
"How did you know about Escaflowne?" Hitomi asked quizzically, a frown forming on her pretty face. "I didn't tell you about how it turned into a dragon."
"I assumed," Loric answered with a wave of his hand as he walked over to his pack and started to clean the sword he had stolen for his own the night before. "I told you before, I've read almost every story I could on the Destiny Wars, and that dragon looks like the Guymelef Escaflowne and I think I read somewhere that it and the Fanelian King were connected somehow. It would make sense that it would try to find its master…but can you tell me how it became a dragon?"
"We are unaware of how I came to be child," Escaflowne's gentle, wise voice said to the startled young man who was looking at the white dragon in alarm. "We hope to uncover that mystery along with many others on this journey. I am happy you have agreed to come with us Loric of Maboch."
"Just Loric is fine," the blue-eyed youth said with a slight smile at the white dragon. "Thank you Escaflowne. Now, I know who three of you are, but who's the kitten?"
"Excuse me," Sari said with her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing. "Don't call me that, I have a name…Sarisim thank you very much. But, call me Sari or else I won't answer. Anyway, who are you really? I mean, we know your name, but not really anything else, I don't want to travel with someone who really is a criminal you know,"
"I don't know much about my past," Loric said with a shrug and a small smile at Sari's anger towards him. "My mother died when I was four of a Dysentery epidemic in Palas…I never knew my father, he was killed for treason before I was born. I became an apprentice for a blacksmith when I was fourteen, five years ago, and I learned how to use a sword there as well. The blacksmith said I just had a natural talent for swordplay, I guess he was right, and when I was seventeen I started a plan to assassinate King Moosta. Obviously, it failed, and I was captured…those filthy Ferra burned down that blacksmith's home along with his family to teach the city a lesson on Moosta's orders.
"That's why I'm going to help you Hitomi," Loric said, directing his angry blue eyes towards her green ones which were saddened for all of the pain he went though in his young life. "I want those Ferra wiped out of Gaea so Maboch can return to being the Asturia I read in those stories when I was younger! King Moosta's cruel hold over Maboch needs to be stopped too…it was never his kingship to begin with. I'll help you anyway I can to repay you for saving my life, even if that means I may die on this journey."
Hitomi nodded silently, not wanting him to swear his life on this but aware that she would not be able to dissuade him from it. She had enough experience with Van to know stubbornness when she saw it. She just hoped Loric's thirst for vengeance wouldn't result in the same way Van's had, in him almost dying.
"I know a way you can help that's more immediate," Merle spoke up suddenly, directing her still sharp brown eyes to Loric. "You can help teach Hitomi and my granddaughter Sari how to protect themselves with swords, bows, staves, and the like. You seem to be proficient enough to do this, and they'll need to know somewhere down the road anyhow. You get me?"
Loric nodded his head towards Merle, and motioned the two other girls to follow him. Sari did, but with a dubious look on her face, not sure why he was already going to start. "We don't have any weapons or stuff other than your sword, how will we be able to train?"
"I brought some," Merle said with a cheeky grin at Hitomi. "Just had a feeling that it wouldn't hurt to be prepared this time around. We don't have Van around to protect us defenseless girls like last time do we eh?"
"I guess not," Hitomi said with a weary sigh as she followed the other two retreating figures, grabbing the various weapons from Merle's outstretched arms and dreading the session she knew was going to kick her butt. "But it sure was nice when we did."
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Escaflowne watched the two younger girls' mock battle with the Loric character with mild interest, perplexed why humans always found the need to fight so pertinent. The dragon understood that it would be prudent for the two girls to learn how to defend themselves properly, sometimes he would be off busy doing something else and would not be there to help, but the intensity the boy used troubled him. Perhaps Sari, who was raised in a fierce clan that had survived so long on their strength, would be able to handle this rigorous training Loric insisted on using, however Hitomi was completely different than the cat-girl.
She was much more peaceful and caring…battles had always upset the girl her last time here the dragon recalled, remembering his master's memories as if the were his own. She had always been athletic, her endurance and speed were always superior compared to the average, but her physical strength and dexterity were lacking and it showed as Loric trained them in swordplay. Escaflowne could see she was fatigued and frustrated, her block against Loric's attack failing yet again and her sword clattering to the ground, but she didn't try to give in. She just cursed in anger and walked over to pick up her sword and watch Sari complete the same move expertly.
The dragon's warm eyes watched the girl with a kindness he did not know he had, and he smiled inwardly as she pushed some of her honey-brown hair out of her face. His little one had chosen a good one, the dragon mused as he continued to watch her try the move again, and she was just what was needed for the trials to come. The dragon still was not sure what those trials were exactly but he had some good ideas, and they all included Atlantis in some form. If that mystery was involved, Escaflowne believed that only that girl's determination would help them stave off the disaster she foresaw the Ferra creating.
He saw her fail again but this time she did not take it well, and Escaflowne became overwhelmed with an urge to go and comfort the girl. He suppressed the urge, knowing it would not be appropriate at the time, but he thought again on why he felt so strongly drawn to this one little girl from the Mystic Moon. An idea swam into his head, one that the dragon now suspected to be a truth, but he too pushed it aside, knowing that this truth would need to be hidden from the others in case the Ferra ever catch them. They could not, would not Escaflowne decided fiercely, get a hold his little one, and if that meant keeping things from the rest of the group, he would do that.
Hitomi's raised voice drew his attention back to the scene unfolding before his maroon eyes, and he rose up from his crouched position to pacify things if needs be. He could hear clearly now, and it worried him that Hitomi was so upset…bad things tended to happen when she was very upset or distraught.
"Will you just back off Loric!" Hitomi yelled at the brown-haired boy, her hands clenched at her sides in anger. "I know I'm not good with this stupid sword, but I can't keep doing the same exercise! Let me try another weapon or something if you really are dead-set on this training session making me an incredible weapon master like you!"
"I don't want you to be a master Hitomi," Loric countered, his own voice struggling to stay calm. "But I wouldn't mind if you actually learn how to defend yourself half-way decently by the end of today. You don't even seem like you're trying, and you need to learn this so you won't die if one of us is somewhere else."
"I'm not even trying?" Hitomi asked quietly, her voice dangerously low, the tell-tale sign of her temper rising. "If I wasn't trying, would I still be here Loric! Would I still be out of breath, would I be this frustrated right now?"
"That's not what I meant by not trying," Loric answered sharply, his blue eyes bright in anger. "When you attack me, you have good enough form, but you aren't trying to hurt me. You don't go for the kill, and you need to if you want to survive in a battle, you're too concerned with hurting me to hit me correctly."
"I don't want to kill anyone," Hitomi said ardently, a memory of a Doppelganger dying coming to mind. "I saw too much of it before, I won't kill anyone Loric!"
"I thought you were supposed to be strong," Loric said in a disappointed voice, his eyes narrowing as he shook his head. "The stories always portrayed you as this goddess who came to Gaea and helped the Fanelian King stop the Destiny War from killing everybody. You were always so powerful and strong, why can't you see how important it is that you tra--"
Loric was interrupted when a quick hand slapped him across the face, causing his head to snap back. Rubbing his stinging cheek and contemplating how this girl had hit him twice in less than twenty-four hours, he turned a shocked and angry expression back to face the green-eyed girl. However, when he saw the tears flowing down her face, any angry thoughts he had towards her disappeared in an instant and his eyes widened in worry.
"I am not a story Loric," Hitomi said shakily as she shook with small sobs that wracked her frame. "I'm not some sort of heroine that saved all these people, or someone who was incredibly wise, or someone who's ever killed anyone before! I'm just what you see right here, an almost eighteen year old girl who has the unfortunate luck of seeing the most awful and disturbing visions. I-I'm not some fairy tale character who is all powerful, and I wish people would stop trying to see me as that! All I wanted to do was see Van one last time and tell him how much I care about him, but everything is so wrong and I can hardly stand it! Stop depending on me to save everyone again!"
She turned away then and ran the opposite direction of where Escaflowne was coming from, running back towards the small brook to get away from the staring eyes who wanted her to be some invincible hero she just wasn't. She could hear Sari yelling at her to come back, but she didn't…she just kept running until she couldn't hear them anymore. She collapsed next the brook, letting all of her frustrations, self-doubts, and worries run down her face and onto the soft grass that cushioned her.
Why didn't anyone understand just how scared she was right now? Everyone that had comforted her before was gone and the only person she had ever truly loved was gone, dead for all she knew. Sure, Merle said he wasn't, but she could have just been deluding herself to hide from the grim truth, and now those monstrous Ferra were going to be after them after her little spectacle in Palas! It was too much for her to handle; she should be going to graduation parties and planning to pick out small furniture and other things for her dorm for goodness sakes, not trekking cross-country the mystical land of Gaea looking for a winged-young man who could be seventy years old for all she knew.
"Everything was all lined up," Hitomi said in a forlorn voice that sounded horrible to her. "And then my future just crashed and I come back here! I was ready to make him my past, move on with my life and try to love again, but he pulled me back here! I just-I just want a normal life again…I don't want to see anymore people I care about die or get hurt! Why won't it stop?"
She suddenly stopped her self-pity tirade and froze like a statue, the familiar light-headed feeling flowing over her and whisking her out of reality. She tried to fight it, not wanting to see the horrible vision she was sure would greet her once she awoke in her dreamland state, but it was too powerful for her emotional soul to fight off. Her green eyes dulled and she fell backwards, no longer able to hear a boy's voice calling for her, and was lost inside her mind once again.
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"You idiot," Sari said scathingly to Loric, who was running a troubled hand through his brown hair. "Men! You're all so clueless sometimes…didn't you figure that she wasn't going to be some sort of fairy tale when she actually showed up at your cell? She's dealing with enough, and nothing you just did helped her at all…I can't believe she kept it up as long as she did; I would have given up awhile ago. Well, are you going to go and apologize?"
Loric stared back at the seething kitten, his blue eyes gazing back at hers passively, before he said quietly, "I'm not very good with that sort of thing."
"Really?" Sari asked back, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "There's the surprise of the era…no kidding Loric! But even so, you need to try; you're the one who upset her so bad! Grandma, please tell him that he needs to go and patch things up with Hitomi, I'm not dealing with them squabbling at each other this entire trip!"
"You should go boy," Merle said, he lined face facing his youthful one. "She only gets worse the longer she stews, trust me. If I had a penny for every time Van said something like this to piss her off, I'd be richer than old Asturia by now. She's probably calmed down a bit by now though, she'll be easy to apologize to now more than ever."
Loric turned away and directed his attention towards the magnificent white dragon sitting next to Merle on its haunches. The maroon eyes were no longer so warm and kind as they bore into his eyes, but rather they were flinty and challenging…more dragon-like. "Should I go and retrieve her?" he asked softly, not looking away from those fierce eyes even though every instinct he had was screaming at him to do just that.
"I believe you do need to," Escaflowne answered back curtly, the tone giving Loric the impression of a very angry blacksmith whenever he was rude to a customer. "But I will join you so you do not damage her fragile psyche anymore than you already have. She will have fled to the small brook, water calms her…"
The dragon did not explain how he knew that Hitomi was relaxed by water, and Loric thought it prudent not to ask. Escaflowne had explained earlier that it did not know how it was aware of certain quirks about the green-eyed girl, it just did. Loric heaved a sigh and followed the white dragon back towards the brook where he had washed the dishes earlier that day. He was not looking forward to facing Hitomi after making her so upset…he had always been horrible at these things.
"But Loric," a small girl said in a whine, her great grey eyes filling with mock anger. "You can't always be so angry at people! Then they'll think you're not a nice person. You need to work on your people skills!"
"I guess I do Sara," Loric whispered to himself as the little girl's happy face swam back out of his vision and into his memories once more. "I guess I do."
"You are troubled by the death of the family that cared for you are you not?" Escaflowne asked suddenly, the dragon's voice conveying that it already knew the answer. "The Ferra murdered them to further your pain…and the guilt inside of you festers now."
Loric opted to not respond, his blue eyes frosting over as the memory of the burning house and terrified screams of a little girl filled his mind's eye. He gave the dragon a terse nod, indicating a positive answer to the inquiry, and kept his eyes on the ground ahead of them.
"I thought so…my little one would get that same look in his eyes whenever he remembered his home being destroyed. He lost so very much, sometimes the pain was too much for me to bear and I would nearly kill us both, but he blamed himself constantly until Hitomi was able to convince him it was not his fault that terrible things happened to his country and to his family. I think it was the hardest thing he ever admitted to…so young Loric, learn from Van Fanel's mistake. Do not let your thoughts destroy your sanity, but rather embrace them and share with those who you care for."
"Who?" Loric answered bitterly, surprising himself with his self-pity. "Just who should I talk to about this Escaflowne? The only family I've ever had as just been murdered, and my real family died years ago…I have no one in this world."
"You say that now because of the pain you feel, but once you open your eyes Loric, you will see that there are many people who wish to care for you. Losing those you love does not mean that there will not be more down the road who you will feel love for. Trust and Live Loric, and if you can do that, Love will come again."
The wise, kind look once again returned to Escaflowne's great maroon eyes, and the white dragon let Loric mull over the thought-provoking words in silence, respecting the boy's need to sort out his own feelings by himself. After all, he was not the first boy Escaflowne had seen go through such atrocities as a child, and he would not be the last unfortunately. The pair walked in the comforting quiet for another five minutes before Loric spotted the honey brown hair he knew to belong only to Hitomi, and they both hurried over towards the still girl.
"Hitomi I--" Loric began before the words faltered in his mouth, knowing at once that something was wrong with the girl the way Escaflowne let out a loud growl and hurry to her side. When Loric saw her, he was so astonished he did nothing for a moment but stare at the girl. Her skin looked deathly pale and her eyes were wide open, any sparkling green she once had now replaced with a grayish color to match her pallor. She was breathing, but not moving at all other than that, her colorless eyes fixed on something that neither he nor the dragon beside him could see.
"Esacflowne!" he yelled needlessly loud due to his surprise. "What's wrong with her? We need to get her to a medical center or something or else she could…she's barely breathing and her skin looks like death oh Gods…why are you just standing there like some stu--"
"We only need to carry her back to camp child," the white dragon interrupted softly, fixing his calm eyes with Loric's frantic ones. "She is no danger to herself, but it would be prudent that she be somewhere safe when she awakens. Hitomi is in the throws of a vision, an important one if it caused this reaction, but she should wake from it soon. Do not worry for her physical health Loric; we only need to be concerned with how her mind can handle the vision if it be a violent one."
"Why?" Loric asked in short gasps as he controlled his quickly beating heart. "Could she suffer head trauma or something? Will her…will her sanity be crumbled? I remember a story when she saw the death of a Doppelganger and she nearly lost her mind…could that happen here?"
"I do not think it will," Escaflowne rumbled as Loric lifted the listless girl into his strong arms, careful to cradle her head in the crook of his arm. Escaflowne felt an unfamiliar pang of resentment flash through him towards the brown-haired youth, but he quickly ignored the feeling and focused on the situation at hand. "She is much stronger than the stories give her credit for…she will be fine child. I just want Merle near her; she is the only one living who actually went through one of these episodes and has experience on how to treat her until she wakes. Come now, we best hurry."
Escaflowne broke into a trot back towards the makeshift camp, leaving Loric to run after him, the dragon's great strides greatly surpassing his own quick ones. He looked down at the prone girl cradled in his arms, a protective feeling coursing through him that he had felt towards another pretty girl once, and he glared back ahead at the dragon's form in front of him, determined to do just what the dragon had said.
"I'll protect you Hitomi," Loric huffed to himself amidst his gasps for air as he ran faster than was comfortable for him. "I promise to protect you, just like I promised to protect Sara. I'll succeed this time though, you can count on that! I won't let your spirit down my little sister."
If he had not been running so quickly after the white dragon, he would have noticed a small, barely perceptible, glimmer of light flitter into the glade and 'smile' gently at his retreating form.
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"Where am I?" Hitomi asked in a soft voice, momentarily forgetting what had happened beside the brook. "Wait, I'm in another vision! I remember being swept away from my friends in the woods and now I'm here…in a white city I seem to recall from a dream…"
She pushed herself off the ground, for she had been crouching in a similar position to the one by the tiny stream, and raised her green eyes to look at her current surroundings. The city, for that was what it was for sure, was built very much like the old cities of ancient Greece with great white marble making most of the buildings and homes. She could smell the sea air from the tiled plaza she was in, and she saw a white feather fall down in front of her, gleaming like it was alight. The sky was a brilliant blue, so much so she gasped in amazement, and to her left there was a great green field raised above the city, punctuated only by a great oak tree.
"I know this place," Hitomi whispered to herself as she began to walk around, her feet floating as if on air. "I've been here before, and that tree…it's so familiar I know that I've se--"
She was interrupted by her own gasp as a winged woman flew over her head, carrying a small basket of fruit which she gave to two smaller winged beings…Draconian children. She knew where she was now, it being her second time visiting the great city in her dreams following the time she went here to convince Van he had a reason to live when his tortured soul fled here after a battle against the Dragon Slayers.
"Atlantis…" Hitomi breathed, marveling at both the beauty of the city and at the knowledge that all of this would be reduced to ruins, ruins which she had also seen once. She looked around back at the tree, almost willing herself to see the figure that was waiting there for her. "Van!"
She hurried towards the field like she had once, passing through figures and buildings as if she were a ghost, and arrived on the field much sooner than normally possible. She could see his outline resting against the tree, his messy black hair obscuring his face, and she hurried towards him, the smile on her face beginning to waver as she grew closer to him. It was as if he was…wait, it was not a him at all!
Hitomi stopped in front of the figure, noting the female characteristics and the feminine face which now gazed though her…she felt her heart crack but forcefully pushed that feeling aside as she watched another Draconian pass though her, a very large male who walked with a regal quality to his step. The girl's face screwed up in what Hitomi thought was distaste and she could see a familiar gleam of anger spark in those deep maroon eyes.
"I do not wish to talk with you father," the girl said in an angry tone, her face scrunching as she scowled at him owlishly. "You know where I stand on this issue, and I refuse to back down just because the rest of Atlantis believes this perversion will make them into Gods. Was not changing our appearance all those years ago not enough? Must we make this terrible machine to prove how great we are to humans?"
"You do not understand Camille," the giant of a man replied, his own brown eyes narrowing at his daughter. "If we have this power, we can create harmony amongst not only warring humans, but also amongst the Draconians and everyone else. Peace will be achieved and perfect happiness will be at hand because this power will grant every living beings wishes! It is something that not even the Gods can do my child!"
"Father," Camille answered in an aggrieved tone that her father could not hear her argument. "Perhaps the Gods did not want to create such a power because of the implications…not all humans or Draconians are good beings, and what of the Arref who we banished from our halls when we sprout wings on our backs? Surely their wishes would not benefit living creatures wishing for peace! Why can you not see the error and disaster such a power could make? Making a force from human thought and Draconian power to create a sentient power who would grant everyone's wishes? It is a perversion against nature father!"
"It will be done Camille," the man answered in a final voice, his eyes angered by his daughter's insolence. "And you will see how great a power it will be! We will give mankind and all Draconian kind an unending happiness only imagined in our dreams. You will see my heir, you will see."
The man marched off and spread his great wings as he pushed off the field and into the air. Hitomi watched him fly away before returning her attention back towards the still fuming girl, her delicate hands clenched at her side before she collapsed onto the ground in tears. Hitomi gazed down at Camille's sobbing form, and was reminded so much of Van it nearly killed her to keep watching the scene. She was about to reach a hand out to comfort the girl when a voice shocked her so bad out of the act.
"That was not the last argument the princess Camille of Atlantis would have with her father, King Connell," a gentle voice said, causing Hitomi to whirl around quickly and stare at the older version of the sobbing girl. The woman's eyes were still blazing with life, but they harbored a terrible guilt and her beautiful face was lined with worry wrinkles. "I had many more arguments with my father, and it was only after the power of Atlantis destroyed our empire that he saw the truth of what I had been saying all those years. It was his dying statement…I became Queen after that and it is what happened during my reign of a broken race that I learned why I had been so horribly correct."
"You-you," Hitomi stuttered at the regal woman in front of her. "You're a queen? I didn't know that Atlantis had royalty…"
"Well," Camille said in an amused voice. "We did…a line that is all but extinct now due to the Arref's meddling. That is why I need your help, why the Draconians need your help Hitomi, seeress from the planet Earth. A terrible time is approaching Gaea, and after that Earth that we were unable to prevent because of a war that nearly destroyed us all."
"I thought the Draconians were almost all but extinct," Hitomi asked in what she knew sounded like a child's voice.
"No we are not," Camille replied in a grave tone, her maroon eyes fixing Hitomi's green ones with a look. "But we are greatly diminished from what we once were. My people now hide in the ruins of Atlantis, safe from a world that hates and fears us. That is where you must go child…you must go towards the lost city of Atlantis."
"The Mystic Valley?" Hitomi asked incredulously, her eyes going wide. "But, I was there already once and we didn't see any Draconians expect I saw Van's mother in a spirit form. There aren't any Draconians there anymore your Highness!"
"Please call me Camille," the queen said with a wave of her hand, an annoyed look at being referred to as royalty passing over her face, just like Van's when Hitomi would call him 'your highness' for fun. "And I'm afraid you are mistaken my dear, there are many of us there you just did not look and they did not reveal themselves. I believe if they knew who you had accompanying you there, they would have made themselves known much sooner. But, they did not, and now you must go there to find the Key before the Arref do."
"Key?" Hitomi asked in a small voice, her hands wringing at the sides of her skirt. "Why me?"
"Because you are much more powerful than you think you are," Camille answered in a kind voice full of confidence. "When I first heard the explanation to why Atlantis was destroyed, I knew then that a time would come when the means to control the power which my kind foolishly made would come as well. That time is upon Gaea now, so that is why I preserved myself in a memory to aid whomever would go searching for the Key…a search you have already undertaken to find the Half-Draconian king. You will find the final piece of your vision there, and you will find the answers you so desperately seek."
"Will I find Van there?" Hitomi asked hopefully, wondering if he was the last piece of her vision because he was the last to appear. "Will he be there along with this Key?"
"Yes," Camille said in a mysterious voice, her eyes twinkling in a sort of amusement. "The lost Draconian King will be found there as well…you must find the Princess and one-eyed man from your vision before you can head that way however. The way to Atlantis will be revealed when you have the keys to Gaea's victory, and then the Key to Atlantis will be found much easier than you might think."
Camille gazed down kindly at the distraught girl before her, sensing the fear and determination coming from her. She reached down and wrapped the green-eyed girl in a motherly hug and whispered in her ear, "Just believe in the love you have for him child. It is okay to be angry or scared at what is happening to this world; just do not give into the despair the Arref or Ferra wish you to give into. I believe you are the only one who will be able to guide the Key in the correct path to peace. Can I trust in you Hitomi Kanzaki?"
"Yes, you can Camille," Hitomi said in a strong voice after a moment of hesitation and self-doubt. "I'll find this Key and I'll find Van…I know I will. I just need to believe everything will be all right in the end and that I'll get to him before those Ferra do. I know we can."
"Then you can leave now child," Camille said in a relieved voice, sensing the questions form on the girl's lips but silencing them before they were voiced. "I cannot reveal more to you now child, but you will discover the answers are not as far off as you may have thought they were. Just believe Hitomi."
Before Hitomi could say anything further, the world around her, including the two forms of Camille, swirled around her and she was left staring at the black cloaked Ferra from her previous dream before her. The creature pulled out a gleaming white feather and waved it tauntingly in front of Hitomi, but she gazed back stonily at the Ferra and said in a strong voice, "I won't let you win Zorbane. Now I know what I fight, and I'm not afraid anymore…and I won't be again!"
The creature in front of her faltered and dropped the feather, slits glaring at her angrily and he let out an ear-splitting screech that made Hitomi scream before everything disappeared again.
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Zorbane awoke from his trance with a painful scream and a string of expletives that would have made a sailor on the Mystic Moon cringe. He looked wildly around the room he had been in before he felt the girl's presence in the dream realm and had launched headlong into her vision like he had before, but this time she had been protected by the Draconian magic and when she had reemerged she was no longer frightened by him. That more than anything she could have learned bother him the most, but he pushed those troubling thoughts aside as he heard the familiar whoosh of the black cloaks his kind wore as they swept into the room to check on him.
"Are you fine my lord?" Kul'sac said in his sibilant tone, his cowl pulled back to reveal the scabbed skin underneath. "Your scream sounded as if you were being tortured, does the girl grow stronger than we anticipated?"
"No," Zorbane answered in an angry hiss, whirling around to face his cohorts. "She is being aided by the ancient Draconian magic now though…something that could be a problem down the road. I want that girl killed the moment she brings back the lost Fanelian king Kul'sac…she could destroy all that we have spent an era creating. Keep the emperor focused on the Black Rose, and I'll make sure this girl is taken care off."
As Kul'sac bowed before his leader and left the chamber, another voice punctuated the silence. "Is that where I come in Zorbane?"
"Yes De'miraz," Zorbane said as he twirled to face the female Ferra before him, a cold smile playing on his scarred lips. "And try not to let your last failure happen again. You will be meeting Dilandau and his troops in Bras'doch in five days. I'm pushing back the date because of you're little incident in Maboch which you need to clean up."
"Yes my Lord," De'miraz answered in an angered tone. "I will make sure this Loric de Jesep is caught and taken care of."
"Do not worry about that," Zorbane said with a negligent wave of his hand. "If the seeress rescued him, he is no doubt still with her. Why she wants a mere swordsman is beyond me, but I want you to go and make sure Moosta tightens his grip on Maboch. Do you understand me?"
"Yes my lord," De'miraz said in an obedient tone, even though her black slit-like eyes were screaming something different. "I will do as you wish…tell Dilandua to be ready to leave in five days."
After all the Ferra had swept from the room, Zorbane turned back once again to his scrolls of ancient Atlantean scriptures and ran a hand over his bald scalp. He knew that he had planned everything according to what those legends said about the Key, but the seeress's new attitude towards him troubled him a little bit. If she was not halted soon, she could develop into a potential problem. He gazed out of the chamber's window over the capitol of Zaibach, Utonia, and narrowed his slits at the world of humans of which he so despised. Once everything fell into place, he would be rid of their infernal stench at long last.
"That Key will be mine regardless of that girl," Zorbane whispered to himself as he turned around to exit the room and his worries about his carefully constructed plans. "No little girl is going to change the course of fate which as been foretold thousands of years ago. Not even the love of two easily swayed hearts."
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Hitomi awoke to find four very concerned faces looking at her; each so strange that any other normal seventeen year old girl would have freaked and leapt up screaming bloody murder. She gingerly put a hand to her head, letting the minor headache that accompanied the visions to wash over her for a moment before she turned her attention back to the four, smiling t their concern. It almost was as if she had returned to the regular time it should have been and Millerna was looking over as well as Allen and Merle to make sure she was all right. And even though Escaflowne looked nothing like Van, the dragon's presence made up for that and she felt like he was right there by her side.
"Are you all right Hitomi?" Sari asked in a worried tone, her blue eyes reminding the green-eyes girl of Millerna so much. "You were out for a while you know."
"We were so worried about you," Loric said in a deep tone that sounded like Allen. "I kept thinking of how much I needed to apologize for my behavior and I couldn't forgive myself if you had…not known before…"
"Oh shut up you two," Merle rasped, whacking both on their heads with her paw, reminding Hitomi of that feisty kitten she had known form long ago. "She's fine, probably a slight headache, but fine nonetheless. Jeez! So Hitomi, you all right or what?"
"Child I hate to ask," Escaflowne began in a kind voice that Hitomi found more comforting than anything else. "But, what did you see in your vision? It was important was it not?"
Hitomi nodded as she pushed herself onto her elbows and looked around at the others. She told them all that she had seen and learned, particularly about this 'Key' Camille had told her to find. Throughout her tale, the others remained surprisingly quiet, and before she knew it, Hitomi was done and waiting for their reaction. Only Merle showed any kind of reaction during the story, and now she was smiling in a way that told Hitomi she believed her fully, and Escaflowne nodded its majestic head in accordance to what Camille had said as well.
"So," Loric said finally, an expressionless look on his face as his eyes were still searching for an answer. "This queen said that we need to go to the Mystic Valley and that's where we'll find Van Fanel? I'm not going to lie about this, but it sounds impossible…however, you did it once before and I promise to repay my debt to you for saving my life. If this is where you were told we need to go, then I'll follow you Hitomi."
"While I'm not as enthused about protecting you as this moron here," Sari said as she jerked a thumb in Loric's direction. "I did promise to help my grandma find her old friend, so I'll come too. If, for nothing else, to yell at this Van Fanel for getting himself into such a mess and leaving us to clean it up."
Hitomi smiled at everyone, familiar warmth filling her heart as she was helped to her feet by Merle and Loric. She saw that they had gathered everything up already, and she walked over to grab her own pack and hoisted it over her shoulders. She began to walk down the path out of Maboch, pausing to look back over her slim shoulder and smile at the other four still standing by the tree she woke up next to.
"Well," she called out in a playful but determined voice. "Are you coming or not? We've got a princess afraid of her world to find and then a one-eyed man…I'm not wasting anymore time worrying about it. I'm not letting the Ferra win this battle, I promise that if it kills me."
She turned back around and continued to walk, smiling as four now recognizable footfalls accompanied her on a road that led to the Zaibach Empire and to the future of Gaea.
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A/N: A bit shorter than usual, but I had to do some rearranging with the chapters to cut out some useless crap. The next one will be pretty long because I'm combining two chapters into one! What does that mean for all of yous? Well, it means Van will be entering the picture sooner than it was originally so, hip hip hooray!
I'm still not sure if I liked this chapter…but I needed to propel the story so here it is. Again, review please people! I love getting your feedback so much you don't even know! My reviewers for my Teen Titan fic are losing this particular battle because you guys just rock, so more updates for you!
Until next time, which will be a bit longer because I have my finals and such so give me two weeks or so please! Adieu!
Osco