Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Escaflowne…If I did, that series would have continued.
A/N: Yeah, this is my fourth story…The only one that does not have anything to do with Yu-Gi-Oh! Uh, yeah, I LOVE ESCA. So, enjoy!
Chapter One
"Alright, here's the key." The landlord mumbled, handing it to the new tenant. "If ya got anything to complain about, talk to me…Okay?"
"Yes. Not to worry." She smiled politely, even though she couldn't stand the sight of him.
"Enjoy." The short man hobbled off, grumbling about something. That guy is always complaining about something…The new tenant thought mildly. Well…Home sweet home, I presume…
Pulling her blonde past-shoulder length hair out of her face and into a pony-tail, Hitomi prepared herself to lift all her luggage into the small apartment she had just rented. Jeeze! This stuff is heavy! Maneuvering herself into the apartment, she soon dropped all of her things onto the floor next to the coat hanger……and also on her foot.
"OW!" She shouted, holding her throbbing toes. Why does that always happen! Hitomi stopped to remember the time that happened back when her and Yukari shared a dorm-room at University. Those times seem so far away……Then, it was funny; now, it wasn't because it really hurt!
Sighing loudly and pushing the bangs out of her face, she scanned the room. Okay, not bad…It was simple, but appropriate. Kitchen was to the right of the entrance door with a small fridge and oven…...Wow. A dishwasher too! Cool. Just in front of the kitchen was where a few chairs and her couch sat….And what a view. Hitomi smiled dreamily. Two large glass doors separated her from the balcony on the other side.
A clock hung from the wall adjacent to the doors. Seven o'clock? Maybe I'll unpack tomorrow…Hitomi thought. I'm tired…and I just don't feel like it! She tried to think of something else to justify her laziness but nothing else came. She picked up the box which she hoped contained her clothes and toiletries and brought it to the bed.
Refolding all the tossed clothes inside, she placed them in the cabinet and the drawers next to the bed. She then proceeded to check out the rest of her new apartment. This is so…cool! Ah! My first home away from my parents! It feels so weird to be on my own, but so good too! The bathroom was alright, but she made a note to clean it up later.
Remembering what her mother used to tell her, 'Don't put off what you can do today for tomorrow', she decided to at least make the bed and get her kitchen set up in her new place.
"Okay…Now, which box holds the plates?"
"Lord Van, are you ill?"
A long pause of thought. "No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"You have been stowed away in your room for most of the day…" The servant responded.
"Oh…I'm just thinking." Replied the King plainly. "There is a lot to think about."
"Is there anything I can get for you? A drink, perhaps?" The servant offered.
"No. That's alright." What I want, you can not obtain for me…
"Good night then, your majesty." The servant bowed and left the room quietly, and Van returned to his thoughts. I haven't thought about her in some time…I wonder…I wonder what she has become.
He sat up, ran a hand through his hair and went towards the window. Staring at the Mystic Moon, he looked at it with sadness. That is where she is…I haven't seen her in so long…But, why do I think about her now? I was fine yesterday…Something at the corner of his eye sparkled and he turned his head towards it.
The pendant
It was reflecting the light from the Mystic Moon and the stars….What was that? Van could have sworn he saw the pendant give light of its own. No…It's only reflecting light…That's all…He stared at the pendant intently, waiting for it to correct his thoughts.
But it didn't.
He sighed at his foolishness. That thing hasn't glowed since I last made contact with Hitomi…And who knows how long ago that was…Five years? Maybe seven? Does she know? Van walked over to the pendant and paused. He placed his hand over it hesitantly, expecting some great power to possess him when he did touch it.
But nothing happened.
He clutched the pendant in his bare hand and watched it roll around in the crevices found in his palm. For a second, he thought of throwing it out the window…that way he would never have to think about her again. After all, this pendant was the only thing that connected her to him. It was the only thing that made him remember her after a long day.
Van stared at the open window again. Moving his hand containing the pendant behind his head and with a fierce determination of hurling it over the housetops he-
I love you Van
-stayed motionless. No. No, I can't. I can't do that to her. Van's face lost all aggression and returned his arm to its normal position. Opening his clutched hand, the pendant shined-
Glowed
-in the pale light.
With a shaky hand he placed the pendant back on the table where he always kept it. Away from all prying eyes…Away from even his own. If I don't remember her, if nothing reminds me, I won't care. I doubt she cares…
Removing his clothes, he walked slowly, sadly towards his bed. Lying down on his side, facing the table, he pulled the sheets over his head. That thing never glows anyway…That means she doesn't want or need me at all…
To unseen eyes……
It glowed silently….
Soon, the King of the newly restored Fanelia entered a state of restless sleep.
Hitomi plopped on her bed, exhausted. She had done more than what she had originally planned…She put away everything; all the boxes were empty, the washroom was clean, the kitchen was in order and her bed was made. Ugh…What time is it now? Before her tired eyes could register the time on her digital clock, the numbers faded to black.
And she fell asleep as well.
Under her closed eyelids….
It glowed silently….
The pendant…
A bright pink light flooded Hitomi's vision. The pendant…What is it doing? Then, she heard it too.
Lub-Dub
Lub-Dub
A heartbeat…Mine? Hitomi's tired state was trying its hardest to interpret what was going on. She listened closely to the pattern of her heartbeat and tried to match it to the pendant's…
I love you too, Hitomi, with all my heart…
"Van…" Hitomi whispered. She listened for the pendant again…Yes, Van…Hitomi looked forward and saw the pendant, looking the same way it looked all those years ago, glowing on the floor just a few feet in front of her.
Lub-Dub
Lub-Dub
Van is calling me…Why? Van, what's wrong? Van? Hitomi's thoughts got nervous. He hasn't called me in so long…What happened? Van! What's wrong!
Hitomi started to walk towards the glowing pendant slowly. Van? Please, answer me…What's wrong? The pendant continued to beat steadily at the pace of Van's heart at rest. She got close enough to the pendant so that she was standing right in front of it. What is wrong? I haven't had dreams-
Visions
-like this in a long time…What's going on?
The pendant began to beat faster and faster; Hitomi's green eyes were fixated on the quickening pulse of the pendant. Wait…This pulse matches my own…Hitomi suddenly felt her own heart keeping up with the pendant's. But…How could it…?
It kept going faster, the pulse erratic. This is impossible! A heart can't beat this fast…
And yet, her own heart was keeping up.
Van…What's wrong! Tell me, please! I'm scared! Hitomi looked around the dark abyss, only to find the pendant. What is this place? Where is it!
It kept going faster and faster.
Hitomi could not deny that the pendant's heartbeat was hers. Where is Van's pulse!
Then…
It stopped.
The glow of the pendant vanished in a flash as did the pulse.
And suddenly, Hitomi was shrouded in darkness….She felt faint and lightheaded…She felt the ground under her feet crack and fall apart making her fall deeper into the darkness…Silent, she fell backwards but with hopes that someone-
The angel
-would swoop down and save her, like he always did.
But she continued to fall.
And no angel was there to grab her.
"HITOMI!" Van shouted as his eyes opened. Breathing fast, heart pounding, he tried to make sense of what he just saw. Hitomi…She was…dead? No, impossible. She can't be dead…She fainted…She was falling…But why couldn't I save her?
He tried to remember what held him back, but nothing came to mind. I watched her fall. How could I do that?
Sitting up in bed, he brought his knees to his chest in an effort to control his breathing. Calm down. It was just a dream-
Vision
-and it means nothing…
But why did it feel so real?
Van looked up and wondered that last thought. She was there…In trouble…Why couldn't I help her? He threw the sheets off and walked towards the pendant and stared at it.
It sparkled. It's mocking me. It wants me to do something. It's trying to tell me something. The pendant was there, in the dream…Hitomi was trying to touch it…But then, she fainted. Van was confused. What is it trying to tell me?
It glowed.
Van stepped back and watched it again. No way…That can't be…It hasn't glowed since
It glowed again.
He hastily picked up the pendant and concentrated. Hitomi? Hitomi! What's wrong!
A soft, but present voice whispered to him, Help me…
"Hitomi!" Van tried to connect with her again, but it was so long ago…He couldn't get a good connection. What's wrong! He asked again.
Falling…Came the response.
"Oh God…" Van realized that Hitomi was in trouble…Something was definitely wrong. But why now? Nothing this serious could be so sudden!...Could it?
Van…
Looking out the window, Van saw the Mystic Moon. I'm coming…
And the angel flew
Hitomi shot out of bed and gasped loudly. Oh my God…What was that! Her thoughts were going a mile a minute, as was her heartbeat. She remembered seeing the pendant…and then, falling…
But no angel was there to save her
Suddenly, the darkness of her unfamiliar apartment got to her. She ran towards the balcony, open and shut the door quickly and rested her head on the doorframe, out of breath. The cool night air welcomed her and she smiled, looking at the view of the few cars and streetlights below her.
She looked up towards the moon and sighed. "What did that mean?" Walking towards the edge of the balcony, Hitomi fell on her knees and placed her head in her hands on the ledge. Why? Why does this come now? ThatThat dream…What's going on with Van? What's going on with that pendant…Oh God, why now! Just when my life was starting to get normal…
Hitomi paused. My life was never normal. After I met Van…She stopped herself again. Why am I thinking like this! He probably doesn't even remember you! He's a King! He's probably married to some girl by now…Van's twenty...twenty-two now…
Returning her gaze to the moon, she felt a pain of loneliness strike her. I wish to see the Earth and the moon in the sky again…She remembered all the night skies she saw back in the days when she was on Gaea. They were so beautiful…
Focusing her green eyes on one of the craters on the moon, she stared. Hey, that crater looks like an eye…She sighed and blinked and on bringing her eyes back to the moon, the eye was gone. Must have been a figment of my imagination…
Standing back up, Hitomi looked at the scenery again. Glancing at a streetlamp, she noticed that…Why is the light pink? Blinking several times, she realized afterward that it was nothing.
Why is this happening now! Why all of a sudden! She groaned and rubbed her arms for warmth. Something is going to happen…Something…Her thoughts paused as her gaze rested on a white feather falling from the sky.
What? Her eyes widened. She reached out to catch it and she did. It was solid in her hand. It didn't disappear like the other times Van came to see her.
I love you
As she looked at the feather, she noticed another one….and another one…All of which did not vanish.
The angel
No…This can't…No way…Hitomi was happy and scared at the same time. It can't be Van…It can't be…He doesn't remember you! He hasn't talked to you…More and more beautiful white feathers fell from the sky.
I think your wings are beautiful Van
No…No way…She turned her head to find out where the feathers were coming from…Looking up and towards the roof of the apartment complex, she saw…Van?
"Van!" She shouted. It's him! It has to be him! But then she remembered all the times she thought it was him, and it wasn't. She waited, but there was no response. And her heart fell. "Van?" She called out in a smaller voice towards the rooftop.
No response.
Just more white feathers.
"VAN!" Hitomi cried. Craning her neck to see, she saw a silhouette…and the tips of two magnificent wings near the edge of the roof. "VAN!" Hitomi ran back inside the apartment and headed towards the stairs. Taking them two at a time, she made it to the rooftop breathing hard. Please, don't let this fade away…
She opened the door, and underneath the light of the moon….
…he was there.
"Van…?" She whispered, seeing him. Please, don't let this fade away…
He stood up carefully and walked over towards her, his wings sending feathers everywhere with every step. "Hitomi…" He breathed.
They both stood on the roof for a long time.
And the pendant hanging around Van's neck glowed.
TA-DA! How's that for an opening chapter!
Wow. This is the first time I've written anything other than Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfics…How was it? I always wanted to see Van on Earth….Poor guy is gonna have a hard time adapting….:D Funniess ensures! But be aware…this story is gonna get dark…
Anyway, I LOVE Esca. and this is how I would continue it from the place where they left off…If you couldn't tell, it's been about 10 years since Hitomi went to Gaea and although they have kept each other dear in their hearts, they have drifted away….
Now, I'm not sure exactly who the bad guy is gonna be, so I'm gonna need some time to write this one….This scene (with the freakish dream included) was a thought that I had to get down so I could get started! Hope you stay tuned!
Oh yeah, that whole thing with the alternate thought (in the bold and italics) was an idea that I read in a book and I loved it, so I wanted to take it out for a spin!
PLEASE REVIEW!