A/N: I don't own the rights to Escaflowne, but original characters and plot are mine. If anyone else has noticed, Earth time is slightly ahead of Gaea time. I don't remember exactly how it ended up in the series or movie, but I can take a few liberties. Sorry for the delay in getting the chapter out, I had a bit of writer's block. Enjoy the chapter and always please review!
Chapter 15: Plans Are Falling Through
Hitomi had lost all track of time. The coldness of the dungeon had permeated through the blanket that was still wrapped around her and Celena. When she had seen Folken in the other cell her heart had given a leap for joy, but once she saw the chains holding him back it sank again. He had told her all about how he had fallen in Lady Serra's clutches.
(((Flashback)))
"I remember the ruble buried around me, dust and smoke chocked my lungs. It was hard for me to see very much. My body slowly shutting down, soI dragged myself away from where I had fallen. If my body was every discovered I hopedthat it would be taken and buried with my parents.
"I must have passed out because the next thing I remember is laying on a scientist's table with tubes looped through my body. My arms and legs were strapped down making it impossible for me to move. Then Lady Serra showed up. She had a proposition for me, if I would help her translate some ancient draconian text then she would let me go. I agreed at first not really knowing what it was that she wanted me to do. I followed her into her research lab and discovered part of Dornkirk's old research. A large stone slab was placed at the center of the room and around the edge ancient draconian writing was being studied."
"Was it only a stone slab?" questioned Hitomi.
Folken gave her a strange look, "When she first asked me, that was all that was there. I refused to offer any help because I knew what she was after."
"We found part of your notes from the early days of you joining Zaibach."
Folken had turned away at the comment. "I should have never made that decision."
"Nothing could have changed what had happened Folken. If you didn't join Zaibach, Dornkirk would have found another right hand man." Hitomi spoke with compassion as Celena just sat by listening to the conversation
"Why did Lady Serra capture you?" questioned Folken.
"She discovered that I was from the Mystic Moon. One of the Dragon Slayers remembered that I could read Draconian writing."
"Be very careful Hitomi, Lady Serra will do almost anything to get what she wants.
(((End Flashback)))
Folken had grown quiet after that comment and hadn't said anything since. Hitomi and Celena huddled together to retain some heat. It must have been sometime in the middle of the night because the change of guard came down the hall.Hitomi watched as they smirked and continued on. The fortress seemed to slowly suck the hope from her body.'Van, please hurry.'
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Van laid awake all night long. They hadn't agreed to a plan and finally gave up. But he was still in bed worried about Hitomi, not knowing what Lady Serra might do with her. Even though his mind was a flurry with different scenes of Hitomi being tortured, the quiet creaking of floor boards brought him back at attention. Allen, Dryden, and Chid were all asleep and didn't stir at the movement outside their door.
Van rose from his bad, tip-toeing quietly, and gingerly opened the door. All he could see in the dim light was a small figure creping down the hall to the stables. Following the figure, Van noticed that it never turned around to check if it were being watched. When they reached the stables the figure stepped into the light letting Van see Ilya walking to a water trough. Pulling her necklace off she let the strange red gem sink into the water. A quick flash of light came from the contact, but the little girl remained still.
"Ilissa. Ilissa are you there? Please, Ilissa." Ilya started to whimper, but held back her tears, "Ilissa, I'm so lost. I don't know what to you. Mommy and Daddy were wrong, I can't bring the keys together. I'm so scared Ilissa. Please Ilissa why won't you talk to me." By the time she was done, Ilya was crying. She wiped away the tears with her nightshirt and pulled the stone out of the water.
Van decided he had had enough of people manipulating him. Walking forward, he knelt next to Ilya who was startled for only a moment. Van was ready to start interrogating her, but her tear stained face made him hold his tongue.
"Ilya, who is Ilissa?"
Ilya only kept quiet still wiping the tears from her face.
Van held out his arms to the little girl who promptly moved closer for the embrace. He rocked the little girl for a while as her tears began to slow down. Waiting a little longer Van tried again.
"Ilya, why were you in the forest when Allen and I found you?" he said gently.
"I was put there." Came a muffled voice from his shoulder.
"What do you mean 'put there'?"
"I was sent to put the key together." Van pulled Ilya away enough to see her face.
"What is the key?"
Ilya looked down. "You and Hitomi."
Van was confused. 'Hitomi and I are a key? That doesn't make any sense. She still hasn't told me anything.' But before Van could ask another question a soft sound reached his ears. Ilya had fallen asleep in his lap and instead of waking the obviously shaken girl Van decided to just carry her back to bed.
He was able to get in and out the girls room without waking Merle or Millerna. He had tucked the girl into her own bed and left quickly. Tired of waiting around, Van decided to take some action. Even with the skeleton night crew, Van was careful not to be seen. Making his way to the lower storage room he was able to find the items he needed. After pulling on a thick fur cloak over his clothes and sword, Van strapped a lantern to the outer waist belt. Leaving through the lowest door Van began to make he way to Lady Serra's Fort.
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Yukari rubbed her eyes to fight off sleep that was creeping in. Looking over at the coffee pot, it was drained for the third time that night, but no one had enough energy to fill it again. She shifted a bit on the narrow stool she used while looking over the stone tablet. The upper half was completed, but that was made of larger chunks of stone while the bottom was made of what seemed like pebbles. Amano was carefully trying to fit more pieces together without them crumbling in his hand while Professor Tomoe started on the translation.
A feeling of hopelessness swept over Yukari making her feel as if her efforts were for nothing. "We are never going to get this puzzle figured out."
Amano looked up to see the dejected look on his fiancé's face. "It may be slow going, but we have to keep trying Yukari. Hitomi could be counting on us to figure out the tablet.
Professor Tomoe shut the book he was using for translating the ancient text, "I believe that this is about as far as we can go tonight. Both of you have been an immense help, I wouldn't be very far if you weren't here. So why don't you go home, get some sleep, and come back in the morning with a new outlook on the situation."
"The professor is right Yukari."
"I'll even give you a lift since all of the trains are done for the day. I shouldn't be up this late myself."
"Yeah, lets get going." Yukari and Amano gathered their belongings and followed the professor to his car. It still had a few dents in the rear and front end from his bottleneck on the highway, but the vehicle seemed like a gift to the two tired adults who didn't relish having to walk all the way home. They crawled into the back seat while the professor sat alone in the front only asking where to take them before he drove off.
Yukari was trying to fight off sleep so she wouldn't have a kink in her neck when she woke up at her house, but she was quickly losing the battle. Amano had given in beside her and snored lightly on their way home. Watching the scenery move swiftly past, she didn't try to take it all in. The houses seemed to blend together as Yukari blinked her eyes, the shadow passing across the moon almost went unchecked.
"Professor, stop the car!"
Professor Tomoe turned to her with a puzzled face, but the look in her eyes was noticeable even in the dark. Pulling over quickly only a few blocks from Yukari's home, she jumped out of the car for a better look at the shadow.
"It's the same."
Amano had woken up from the abrupt halt in motion and joined Professor Tomoe who stood next to Yukari. Following their fixed eyesight Amano saw the shadow descend into the park and disappear behind the trees.
"Is that what I think I just saw?"
"A dragon." Mused Professor Tomoe.
Scrambling everyone got back into the car and headed for the park.
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Grey morning light greeted a tired Van as he walked around the perimeter of Lady Serra's Fort. It wasn't long before he found a door that lead inside away from the heavily guarded main gate. Even though he had adjusted to the darkness of the night traveling to the fortress alone, it didn't compare to the darkness of the hallway that he was in. It was pitch black save a lone torch far to the end of what he figured was a hall. Moving quickly, Van let his hand rest against his sword as he ran just in case.
It seemed like forever before he reached the lone torch, but once he did Van was able to spot another better-lit hallway. Not knowing where to go, he just decided to follow his gut and went down the new path. Other smaller hallways intersected, but Van continued forward. A lone set of feet walking towards him sent Van on alert. Ducking into a hallway Van waited for the person to pass.
Dilandau had woken up early that morning to a throbbing headache and a brief recollection of why he found himself on the floor. He was asked to join Lady Serra in the interrogation of Hitomi and was now traveling the halls to her quarters. Taking the servants route, Dilandau thought that it would be best to be early. Walking down the halls he thought little about his safety until his enemy jumped out of a corridor with his sword drawn. Almost immediately preparing to defend himself, Dilandau suddenly got an idea.
"Van what are you doing here?"
Van still had his sword pointed at his chest until he realized that he was with a friend. "Tyrune I need your help."
"What is it Van?"
Van placed his sword back into its sheath. "I think your mother captured Hitomi. Do you know anything about this?"
"No I can't say I have, but then again we aren't that close. If she did I know where the prison cells are, I can take you there."
Dilandau didn't think Van would buy his lie, but he received a smile. "Lead the way then friend."
"Don't worry, I'll lead you right to her." Dilandau laughed silently to himself as he jogged down the winding hallways with Van in tow.
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Hitomi heard gruff voices coming closer to her cell through her hasy sleep. Trying to move Celena so she wouldn't be woken Hitomi was finally able to slip away without notice. Crawling along the cold floor to the metal bars Hitomi tried to get a better view of who was coming. It wasn't long before she heard the familiar voice of Lady Serra talking to a lackey. Lady Serra was soon at her cell with several guards at her side.
"Well, good morning Hitomi from the Mystic Moon. I hope you enjoyed your evening in my fortress." Lady Serra nodded to a guard standing next to her who opened the Hitomi's cell door.
"Now be a good girl and come out of their quietly."
Afraid of what Lady Serra was capable of, Hitomi walked out of her cell only to be shoved in between two guards keeping a stern watch over her. The small party walked to the room where Hitomi had first met Lady Serra inside her fortress. A chair was given to her, which Hitomi took. The guards took their places along the walls.
"Hitomi, I don't normally ask my prisoners twice to help me, but you are a special case. If you don't start helping me soon I will start destroying the little country that the young king rules. I heard that the fire from Fanelia's first destruction was beautiful." Lady Serra's eyes twinkled with sick fascination.
But before Hitomi could give her an answer a noise from the other side of the door distracted her. A shout and a loud thump was all that was heard before everything went quiet again. Lady Serra looked confused, but waited with her guards before they did anything.
Van had knocked the two guards standing outside the door that Tyrune said Hitomi would be in. He was hardly breathing with difficulty when he had fallen the two and now was ready to open the doors. Without pausing, Van flung the doors open to be greeted with the sight of Hitomi sitting in a chair and Lady Serra only a few feet away from her.
"Hitomi, are you-"
Van's questions halted when he felt a sharp point through the layers of clothing on his back.
"I can assure you that she has been taken care of friend." Smirked Tyrune behind him.
"Tyrune what are you doing?" Van looked over at Hitomi who had risen to her feet.
"Well, well, isn't my little plan just falling into place." Smirked Lady Serra.
"Dilandau, please don't hurt him!" Shouted Hitomi as guards rushed around her and Van.
Van only turned around slowly to look at his friend who still had a sword pointed at his torso.
"Tyrune, what has happened to you?"
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Yukari, Amano, and Professor Tomoe searched the park for any signs of the dragon. They moved closer to where they had seen the dragon land. Searching through the bushes for anything, the group began to lose hope. Just as they were about to head back to the car a grunt from a person was heard from behind a pillar from the temple gate. They all moved closer where they had heard the sound. Yukari was the first to around the pillar. A woman with long platinum blonde hair that glowed in the moonlight struggled to stand to her feet. Moving swiftly Yukari was at her side with Amano close behind.
"Here let me help you." Yukari went to the woman's side and placed her arm around her shoulder to support the woman's weight. Amano went to her other side as the woman's knees gave way.
"Do you think she's hurt?" asked Yukari.
The professor had walked around to see the face of the woman they held when he took in a sharp breath. "It's the guardian of the key."
((((((((((((((((((((o))))))))))))))))))))
Yeah, another chapter finished. Please review. The more reviews I get the more motivated I feel in needing to write the next chapter.
-EmpKaylenatye