Lake Reflections
Disclaimer: *authoress closes eyes and crosses fingers* I wish I owned Escaflowne. I wish I owned Escaflowne. *authoress opens eyes* Aww nuts!
A/N: Been busy revamping the previous chapters. just finished Chapter 2... Yay.
*esca chick: Thankies. :) I always look forward to your reviews.
*RaY AlleN 34: Aww. Poor you. I know I couldn't live w/o the computer for even a day. Thanks for taking the time to review & even emailing it to me (although you're right.... I didn't get it.... Stupid AOL.)
*Saiyuki: Thank you! I thought so too.
*Blue Ice: Haha. Thank you. Sorry to leave you at a cliffhanger. Hehe. *smiles apologetically* Forgive me!
*aradow: Thank you. I'll continue to beat my brain and hope it produces satisfactory results. ^_~
~*~
Staring in fascination, Hitomi watched Celena's metamorphosis unfold. Her hair turned into a shocking silver, her sweet smile turned into a smirk, and all the while her eyes turned a deep shade of blood red. Eyes that held more contempt and malice than any other she had ever seen. Eyes that would haunt her forever.
"Hitomi?"
At the sound of Allen's voice, Hitomi started and the image of "Evil Celena" blurred and disappeared. Blinking rapidly, Hitomi saw that Celena was still Celena. Confused as hell, Hitomi turned to Allen- the normal one that wasn't shifting faces.
"Oh. I'm sorry Allen, did you say something?"
"I was asking you what the next card was." Allen said slowly. Hitomi was freaked out about something. She hadn't stopped staring at the card in her hand.
"Oh, this?" Hitomi asked, shielding the card from Allen's view. "It's nothing. Just Celena finding her family again."
Allen arched an eyebrow. "Really?" Hitomi quickly glanced at Celena. Yup. Celena was still "normal."
::Should I tell him?:: Hitomi thought worriedly. ::No. He'd just think I was seeing things.::
"Um.... yea." Hitomi said flustered. "That was it."
~*~
"Are we in position yet?" General Adelphos growled softly. All this waiting was making him irritable.
"Yes sir." The lieutenant said, smartly saluting his commanding officer. "The other Generals have taken their positions at the perimeter."
The Zaibach army had spent the part of the morning surrounding Pallas. They were planning to launch a sneak attack sometime that night. If all went according to plan, they would have control of Pallas before daybreak. IF all went according to plan.
"Excellent." General Adelphos said gleefully rubbing his hands together. "It won't be long now."
~*~
::Water feels good.:: Van thought, floating weightlessly. He basked in the patch of sunlight, enjoying the feel of velvety feel of the water against his skin.
"Van!"
Caught by surprise, Van thrashed around the water, swallowing many mouthfuls of water in the process, before regaining his balance. Looking around wildly, he spotted Hitomi running full speed towards the forest clearing. (And boy could she run. Let's not forget her time on the track team....)
::Oh crap:: Van thought, treading water frantically. ::How'd she find me? Maybe I should dive underwater. If she thinks I'm dead, she won't need to talk to me... Plus, it'd end all my misery with the whole Allen affair.......::
Van took a breath, preparing to dive, but then had a sudden image of him getting pulled to the bottom by the plants growing under the algae encrusted surface. Drowning, Van decided, was not the way he wanted to go. Resigning himself to his fate, Van emerged from the lake and toweled himself dry. He had just been attempting (unsuccessfully) to dry his hair when Hitomi finally reached the clearing.
"Van. I. Need. To. Talk. To. You." Hitomi said raggedly, panting from excursion. She placed her hands on her knees and took a couple of deep breaths. When she finally reoriented herself, she looked up and found herself staring at Van's bare chest.
Blushing furiously, Hitomi started to say something but found herself rather tongue-tied. Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, Hitomi tried vainly to string together a coherent sentence. Failing miserably, she settled on looking determinedly at the trees. Not looking at Van and his hot bod was a immense help with her communication skills.
"Van, could you put on your shirt?" Hitomi said in a strained voice, keeping her whole focus on a bird in mid-flight. "It's kinda hard to talk to you like this."
Van blushed. Oops. He forgot he was standing in front of Hitomi without his shirt. "Um... sure."
After a moment of awkward silence, where Van was struggling with his shirt ties, he finally clothed. Thus, Hitomi was able to regain her composure and her vocal chords.
"Van, I wanted to talk to you about Allen's sister, Celena." Hitomi said bluntly, while finding a seat on a nearby rock.
"What about her?" Van said curiously, sitting next to her. This was the last topic that he thought Hitomi would want to talk to HIM about.
His proximity, with the memory of him half-naked, was making Hitomi feel a little lightheaded. Annoyed at her childish behavior, Hitomi took a deep breath and started explaining to Van about the tarot reading for Celena and the sudden appearance of "Evil Celena".
"....So when Allen interrupted me, the face was gone and Celena was back to normal." Hitomi finished. Now that she got all her suspicions out in the open, she felt loads better. From previous experience, talking to Van usually calmed her down and allowed her to collect her thoughts. Hitomi remembered the way he handled the whole 'Hitomi Being A Jerk And Meddling In Other People's Lives' situation fondly. He had offered her a Piscuss and even gave her a little pep talk. It was sweet, really. Too bad he had to mess it all up by acting like a selfish prig.
"Do you think she's a Doppleganger?" Van asked furrowing his brow, deep in thought. Celena could be another Doppleganger hired by Zaibach or she could even be brainwashed. There was even a real possibility that the girl wasn't Celena at all, but a look alike. Thinking about all these likelihoods gave Van a headache.
::Hm.....I never saw Van thinking before.:: Hitomi thought absently. ::He looks cute like that.
"Well maybe." Hitomi said, shuddering at the unbidden memory of Zongi and his untimely death. "I hope not."
"Well, whatever she is, I'll make sure she doesn't hurt you." Van said softly. He placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder.
She looked up and saw Van looking at her with a tender expression reflected in his deep mahogany eyes. Being so close to him gave her a strange fluttery feeling. It confused her. Wasn't she supposed to love Allen? Resolving to think about this later, Hitomi gave him a small smile and said, "Thank you, Van."
In the bushes nearby, a shadowy figure studied the pair with growing interest. "It won't be long now...."
Disclaimer: *authoress closes eyes and crosses fingers* I wish I owned Escaflowne. I wish I owned Escaflowne. *authoress opens eyes* Aww nuts!
A/N: Been busy revamping the previous chapters. just finished Chapter 2... Yay.
*esca chick: Thankies. :) I always look forward to your reviews.
*RaY AlleN 34: Aww. Poor you. I know I couldn't live w/o the computer for even a day. Thanks for taking the time to review & even emailing it to me (although you're right.... I didn't get it.... Stupid AOL.)
*Saiyuki: Thank you! I thought so too.
*Blue Ice: Haha. Thank you. Sorry to leave you at a cliffhanger. Hehe. *smiles apologetically* Forgive me!
*aradow: Thank you. I'll continue to beat my brain and hope it produces satisfactory results. ^_~
~*~
Staring in fascination, Hitomi watched Celena's metamorphosis unfold. Her hair turned into a shocking silver, her sweet smile turned into a smirk, and all the while her eyes turned a deep shade of blood red. Eyes that held more contempt and malice than any other she had ever seen. Eyes that would haunt her forever.
"Hitomi?"
At the sound of Allen's voice, Hitomi started and the image of "Evil Celena" blurred and disappeared. Blinking rapidly, Hitomi saw that Celena was still Celena. Confused as hell, Hitomi turned to Allen- the normal one that wasn't shifting faces.
"Oh. I'm sorry Allen, did you say something?"
"I was asking you what the next card was." Allen said slowly. Hitomi was freaked out about something. She hadn't stopped staring at the card in her hand.
"Oh, this?" Hitomi asked, shielding the card from Allen's view. "It's nothing. Just Celena finding her family again."
Allen arched an eyebrow. "Really?" Hitomi quickly glanced at Celena. Yup. Celena was still "normal."
::Should I tell him?:: Hitomi thought worriedly. ::No. He'd just think I was seeing things.::
"Um.... yea." Hitomi said flustered. "That was it."
~*~
"Are we in position yet?" General Adelphos growled softly. All this waiting was making him irritable.
"Yes sir." The lieutenant said, smartly saluting his commanding officer. "The other Generals have taken their positions at the perimeter."
The Zaibach army had spent the part of the morning surrounding Pallas. They were planning to launch a sneak attack sometime that night. If all went according to plan, they would have control of Pallas before daybreak. IF all went according to plan.
"Excellent." General Adelphos said gleefully rubbing his hands together. "It won't be long now."
~*~
::Water feels good.:: Van thought, floating weightlessly. He basked in the patch of sunlight, enjoying the feel of velvety feel of the water against his skin.
"Van!"
Caught by surprise, Van thrashed around the water, swallowing many mouthfuls of water in the process, before regaining his balance. Looking around wildly, he spotted Hitomi running full speed towards the forest clearing. (And boy could she run. Let's not forget her time on the track team....)
::Oh crap:: Van thought, treading water frantically. ::How'd she find me? Maybe I should dive underwater. If she thinks I'm dead, she won't need to talk to me... Plus, it'd end all my misery with the whole Allen affair.......::
Van took a breath, preparing to dive, but then had a sudden image of him getting pulled to the bottom by the plants growing under the algae encrusted surface. Drowning, Van decided, was not the way he wanted to go. Resigning himself to his fate, Van emerged from the lake and toweled himself dry. He had just been attempting (unsuccessfully) to dry his hair when Hitomi finally reached the clearing.
"Van. I. Need. To. Talk. To. You." Hitomi said raggedly, panting from excursion. She placed her hands on her knees and took a couple of deep breaths. When she finally reoriented herself, she looked up and found herself staring at Van's bare chest.
Blushing furiously, Hitomi started to say something but found herself rather tongue-tied. Opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water, Hitomi tried vainly to string together a coherent sentence. Failing miserably, she settled on looking determinedly at the trees. Not looking at Van and his hot bod was a immense help with her communication skills.
"Van, could you put on your shirt?" Hitomi said in a strained voice, keeping her whole focus on a bird in mid-flight. "It's kinda hard to talk to you like this."
Van blushed. Oops. He forgot he was standing in front of Hitomi without his shirt. "Um... sure."
After a moment of awkward silence, where Van was struggling with his shirt ties, he finally clothed. Thus, Hitomi was able to regain her composure and her vocal chords.
"Van, I wanted to talk to you about Allen's sister, Celena." Hitomi said bluntly, while finding a seat on a nearby rock.
"What about her?" Van said curiously, sitting next to her. This was the last topic that he thought Hitomi would want to talk to HIM about.
His proximity, with the memory of him half-naked, was making Hitomi feel a little lightheaded. Annoyed at her childish behavior, Hitomi took a deep breath and started explaining to Van about the tarot reading for Celena and the sudden appearance of "Evil Celena".
"....So when Allen interrupted me, the face was gone and Celena was back to normal." Hitomi finished. Now that she got all her suspicions out in the open, she felt loads better. From previous experience, talking to Van usually calmed her down and allowed her to collect her thoughts. Hitomi remembered the way he handled the whole 'Hitomi Being A Jerk And Meddling In Other People's Lives' situation fondly. He had offered her a Piscuss and even gave her a little pep talk. It was sweet, really. Too bad he had to mess it all up by acting like a selfish prig.
"Do you think she's a Doppleganger?" Van asked furrowing his brow, deep in thought. Celena could be another Doppleganger hired by Zaibach or she could even be brainwashed. There was even a real possibility that the girl wasn't Celena at all, but a look alike. Thinking about all these likelihoods gave Van a headache.
::Hm.....I never saw Van thinking before.:: Hitomi thought absently. ::He looks cute like that.
"Well maybe." Hitomi said, shuddering at the unbidden memory of Zongi and his untimely death. "I hope not."
"Well, whatever she is, I'll make sure she doesn't hurt you." Van said softly. He placed a hand on Hitomi's shoulder.
She looked up and saw Van looking at her with a tender expression reflected in his deep mahogany eyes. Being so close to him gave her a strange fluttery feeling. It confused her. Wasn't she supposed to love Allen? Resolving to think about this later, Hitomi gave him a small smile and said, "Thank you, Van."
In the bushes nearby, a shadowy figure studied the pair with growing interest. "It won't be long now...."