Disclaimer: I really hate repeating myself…XD
To all who reviewed/read: ZOMG! I LOVE YOU ALL! I'm sorry, once again, for my tardiness on chapter updates! I hope you guys keep reading until the end! It'd be a shame to miss out…Thank you, thank you, thank you! Love for everyone!
Chapter Twenty Six
Hitomi didn't know how long it had been until a group of men in yellow, green and white uniforms broke the door down and entered the room. From her position at the wall, she saw their faces when they walked in. The younger soldiers eyes opened wide and a few jaws dropped before the leader turned to them and asked them, "How many stretchers do we have left?"
She hadn't heard the question clearly, but she heard enough to know that they were going to take them somewhere to get better. Yes…Yes…We're all g—going to get better…Green eyes followed the men as they examined the room. One of the younger ones knelt down to become eye level with her. "Milady? Milady, are you o—okay?"
The man waved a hand in front of her face, trying to see if she was conscious and able to answer a few questions. He and his fellow troops had come from the East to respond to a frantic S.O.S from Freid. The message said that their king was abducted and they needed backup. However, that was not the only one they had received. Many others had requested for help, explaining the ordeal. They said that the princess of Yoshidaria had assumed war on Fanelia, Asturia and many other established countries in the West. She was destroying everything and they said that it would only be a matter of time before she crossed the ocean to get to them.
Regardless of the state of some international affairs, the East got together as many troops as possible to aid their neighbours across the sea. If the princess was succeeding so easily in the West, they knew that they would be next if they didn't combine their numbers right away. By the looks of it, it seems that everything was taken care of…The young soldier thought, seeing the decapitated princess. But there's a lot of rebuilding to do…
The woman looked at him sadly. "…Help…"
"Yes…Yes, that's what we're here for…" The man nodded, noticing the malnourished prisoners, her bloody arms and another bloodied man next to the body of the princess. …Wait…What? Looking back at the fallen man, his brain registered something that his eyes could not believe. A D—Draconian! Oh, gods! A Draconian……T—That's the King of Fanelia!
Two other men were already putting Van's body on one of the stretchers they had left and Hitomi swallowed thickly as she watched them move him like a dead-weight. Oh…please…don't let him die…
Most of the other men were focusing their time and effort into opening the chains that attached the three prisoners to the wall. After much deliberation, the men had used the points of their daggers to unscrew the nail that held the cuff together. They used three other stretchers and moved quickly out of the room. Hitomi followed all four stretchers leave the room with her eyes; not able to do much else.
"Milady, can you stand? Or move, at all?" The young soldier asked her, finally tearing his eyes off the Draconian. His wings seemed to pose a problem when his men started to place him on the stretcher, but they simply fell apart, leaving only red-tinged feathers all around him. As he waited for an answer from the woman with the bleeding arms, the young man was caught slightly off guard when she suddenly passed out and fell over.
"Men, move out! Get these guys, and the others, to the medicinal area! They all need medical attention!" The commander shouted. "I know it's a long way from here so, we got to move fast! The nearest area is in Togane. Get the vehicles ready!"
She was unconscious for several hours. She didn't even know that she had spent almost an hour on a carriage practically bleeding to death. There were no thoughts, no dreams…just nothing. Hitomi was completely unaware of everything that was happening around her until she realized that something wet and cold was touching her forehead and something sweet was filling her nostrils. Even then, it took her some time before she woke up.
Green eyes were slowly reopened and a low groan was emitted from her lips. The room spun around her; nothing was clear, just a jumbled mess. Her sound perception was not much better. She could hear different tones of voice with different emotions in them, but there was no understanding to what they were saying.
The wet and cold thing was reapplied to her forehead. "Milady?" A nurse called, seeing that her eyes were open. Poor woman…been through a lot…
Hitomi turned her head slightly at the louder tone but could not speak back to her.
"Don't worry; you don't have to say anything…" The nurse smiled. "You're in good hands here. Togane has some of the best medical practitioners." She probably doesn't know what I'm saying…She thought, noticing Hitomi's dazed expression. Just as she was about to turn around to tend to other—more serious patients—she remembered that she had to give this woman something. "…Oh, before I forget…"
Going to the table next to Hitomi's cot, the nurse picked up the pendant and moved back to her to put it back on. As she adjusted the clasp, she smiled. "Such a beautiful trinket…You don't see gems like these anymore…"
Her eyes were getting clearer. The blobs in the room were taking shape. She could distinguish between the nurse and the table and the wall. Hitomi let out another groan from her stiff joints and tried to move in her cot. But this only caused sharp pains to shoot up her arms, abdomenand spine. Her tired state muffled her cry of pain. "Ah!"
"Easy! Easy! We can't have you doing much of that!" The nurse quickly restrained Hitomi, pushing lightly on her shoulders to return her to her previous position. "I know that you're stiff…But you have to wait it out a little longer…Doctor's orders. Here, I'll get some more medicine for you…"
Hitomi heard the nurse walk away, along with several groans and cries of agony from her fellow bed-ridden roommates. As her senses became more functional, she noticed that the air was drenched with the scent of blood and something else…something sweet… Like flowers, but different. ……W—Wha—at? …The more she tried to identify the substance, the more disoriented she became.
Looking around, she saw that the room was light blue…with three windows which were all facing her…The sky was grey; it somewhat sounded as if it was raining…She was on a bed with yellow sheets…her arms were covered in thick white bandages…It looked like there was smoke in the room, but it wasn't smoke; more like a hazy film in the air. It was the thing that was sweet and making her tired again.
"Alright…Here you go…" The nurse returned with a white bowl and a smoldering stick. Hitomi watched her slowly as she put one inside the other to produce more of the sweet smelling hazy film that was everywhere. "This'll help…with the pain…" It only took a few more deep breaths in before Hitomi's eyes rolled back in her head as she drifted back into unconsciousness.
The pendant was sitting in front of her again. Its light casting shadows onto darkness. And she sat there, like she always did. Waiting.
Hitomi tilted her head to the side and her breathing slowed. …W—What? She knew that she had to move towards her pendant before the ground cracked, but her legs hurt. Everything was stiff and sore. Come o—on…Pushing herself up, she only managed to get on her hands and knees from her kneeling position. Instead of running, she crawled.
It felt like years before she reached the pendant but the rules of time did not apply here. It was nothing but darkness and the tiny pink gem. She was right up against it but nothing happened yet. The pendant did not gain a heartbeat like it usually did. It just sat there. Glowing.
Waiting.
Hitomi sat up again on the back of her legs and reached down to grab it. The vis—vision's changed…Her slow breathing echoed around her as she stared at it. Looking inside, she saw aspects of all of the previous visions; the blue eye, the bloody hands, the feathers, Van's attack…and how each of them corresponded to what happened.
The blue eyes were Shina and they glowed like that whenever she used her magic…Van's hands were covered in blood when he carried me home…His feathers were red when we were fighting…A—And he did hurt me……Her thoughts were much clearer now and Hitomi was able to think rationally.
It was Shina all along…her and her powers…She was just an old, vengeful witch…A destroyer…Whatever power she had made Van hurt me—but he carried me home for help, even though he was hurt too…He wasn't in the right state of mind…It wasn't his fault…The blood was everywhere…the destruction…all for Escaflowne. The only reason she wanted it was because it was tied to a descendant of Atlantis. She hated Atlantis…just because people were having a good life…
Although Hitomi was remembering and answering most questions, she still did not know exactly what caused Shina to start the chain of events. There must have been something to start it…Maybe it was her that fell from grace…maybe now, all she does is continuously destroy or start destruction to make everyone else fall like she did…Oh God…
She looked up from the pendant for a moment to stare into the darkness. Her hand clutched it tightly, not wanting to let go. There was no doubt in her mind that if they hadn't stopped Shina, she would have succeeded in destroying Gaea as a whole. She would have destroyed the simple and sweet life the people here had.
Just because she wanted to.
Hitomi admitted to herself that Shina's work must have affected her world a long time ago. It was if Shina was all of the vices put into one being; poisoning the minds of the innocent and offsetting the good.
Atlantis was destroyed because the angels wanted to be better than their neighbour; jealousy, greed…Shina was the one that started that…So now, those vices have been passed on to us. I guess it was taking too long—to her liking—for us to destroy ourselves like the Atlantians did…Hitomi felt tears come down her face. She knew that Shina was not really dead. Even though Shina, as a person was gone…there would always be something that would continue her quest.
Something dark that just wanted everything bad in the world to happen.
Shina had taken a human form to destroy Gaea herself because it wasn't happening as fast as she wanted it to…and that was her mistake…Whatever will take her place is going to learn from that and never enter the material world…Just to work behind the scenes and be patient…and wait…
Hitomi furiously wiped the tears out of her eyes because they were blurring everything. Returning her gaze to the pendant to see if it would tell her anything else, Hitomi was saddened. It seemed hopeless to know all of this; humanity was on a course of self-destruction and they didn't even know it. It took all of this for me to realize it…To see what can really happen…
Her heart fell and she felt sick. Oh, God…Although her eyes were watery, she stared into the pendant's reminiscence of the past. She watched it replay the moment when Shina's pendant shattered. The pendant she stole to start the wishing…it became so dark from her soul…
Just as all the black pieces of the impure pendant broke apart, Hitomi noticed the faintest, the smallest, the almost unrecognizable sliver of pink in the center of it all. What was that? She couldn't get a good look at it because, like all the other pieces, it flew out of sight. The pendant's light started to fade, stopping the memories, and soon, Hitomi was left alone in the darkness. She waited for the ground to break, the hands to pull her down and to keep falling but none of that happened.
The darkness around her turned lighter and lighter.
And a single white feather fell in front of her eyes.
"V—V…" Hitomi's mouth opened to speak as she awoke from her last vision but it couldn't form words just yet. "V—V…" Her eyes opened a bit to adjust to the light in the room. The sun was out today, spilling yellow light into the room. By the time she had opened her eyes completely, Hitomi's vision was normal again as her hearing.
The nurse was at her side quickly. Hitomi had recognized her from the blob she had seen before. "I'm glad you're up. There are some exercises we need to do. It's been about three days and its time to stretch out your muscles…" The nurse paused. "Wait…If you can hear me and understand me, blink once."
Hitomi blinked slowly and then looked the woman in the eye. "Oh, good! Now, we'll go as slow as you like, okay?" The nurse moved closer to Hitomi and began her exercises. She put both hands on her right leg and slowly began to bend it so that her knee reached her chest. There was a cracking sound as Hitomi's joints were being forced to move after almost three days of immobility. Her abdomen began to sting when her leg pushed up against her tender scar.
The woman repeated this with the other leg until all the cracking noises stopped. "Is that better?" Hitomi nodded, relieved that her stiffness in her joints was beginning to lessen. She ignored the pain from her first wound, however.
Next, the woman put a hand behind Hitomi's shoulder blades and carefully began to push her in an upright position. "I'm sorry, milady, but you need to get up sometime!" She would repeat at every groan of protest that came from Hitomi's lips.
The blood rushed to her head, making the room spin and her stomach knot. Hitomi shut her eyes and waited for the uncomfortable feeling to pass. She tried to focus on something else, to get her mind off of her current situation; she was sore…everything hurt and sitting upright was not helping. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she had to know something. Hitomi tried to speak again to the nurse. "L—Lord…Van…" She whispered with her eyes still shut. Her throat was dry and her voice cracked.
The nurse's heart fell. Oh…milady… "He's doing…well…" The woman responded, picking her words carefully.
Hitomi heard the tone and knew that the woman was lying. "I—I want…t—to se—ee him…" Every word she said was broken up. She looked at the nurse again, eyes open and locking onto hers, before continuing. "P—Pleas—se?"
"Milady, you will not be able to see him in your condition. We have not touched upon your walking exercises yet. You're still too stiff for walking…You need to regain your strength." The nurse objected, trying to stop her from seeing the king. His condition was not the best to be a witness of.
"P—Please?"
The older woman saw the pained look in her face. She couldn't deny this woman's request, could she? But…his majesty's days could be numbered…Quickly scanning the room, the nurse had an idea that would get her patient to see Lord Van by not hurting herself. "Meredith!" She called out to a fellow nurse. "Could you get me the mobile seat?"
Hitomi was amazed when Meredith pulled up a metal and wooden wheelchair next to her bed. A…A wheelch—chair…On the count of three, both of them lifted her into the simple wheelchair. "Have a nice trip!" Meredith said cheerily, before walking away. It was then that Hitomi noticed that Meredith had tail underneath her dress. It looked more scaly than furry, but it was a tail, nonetheless. J—Just like Merle…Oh! Merle! At the mention of her friend's name, her heart pounded loudly in her ears.
The nurse who Hitomi was more familiar with pushed her out of her room and into a narrow hallway with doors lined up along both walls. She kept one hand on Hitomi's shoulder to keep her from falling forward. "Would you wish to see the people you were brought in with? All of them?"
Hitomi stayed silent for a little bit, taking in the scene of the hallway in front of her with her eyes half open. Some doors had some of the white smoke shifting out of them while some were open and letting out conversations. A few people with canes and crutches walked past them with other nurses and aides with a friendly nod.
As the nurse pushed her along, Hitomi began to hear the cries of discomfort coming from inside some of the doors where the white smoke was coming out and she wondered how many people Shina had caused suffering for. She stopped herself from crying. We tried to prevent it…but we couldn't……All we can do now…is rebuild again…
"Such a sad scene…" The nurse commented from behind her. "Those bastards had the nerve to say that they didn't mean anything by it! That they were just 'following orders'! How dare they…!" Her angered tone was quickly gone as she tried to forget those Yoshidarian soldiers who they were treating within their walls. "I'm sorry, milady…Where would you like to go first?"
Hitomi's body swayed back and forth in the chair as the nurse pushed her, growing more increasingly aware of large amount of destruction. Her head hurt, her stomach was upset and her arms were itching under all the heavy white bandages. Her wrist had its own separate little cast around it and was also itchy. But she had to know that at least one person was okay. "L—Lord Van…please…" She whispered back. The pendant around her neck did not glow. It just hung around her neck.
Waiting.
"Y—Yes. Of course." The nurse reluctantly wheeled Hitomi towards the section of the medicinal area were the more serious patients were kept. She wished that she would of said one of the other three—because their condition was improving—but, seeing as Hitomi was not going to change her mind, the nurse brought her to Lord Van's room.
The door was large with two little windows near the top. Hitomi noticed that there was a lot of smoke coming out of the gap at the bottom of his door. In fact, all of the doors had a lot of smoke drifting out of them. She noticed that the air smelled sweet…like flowers, but different…She felt tired again. Oh…please…hurry up and show me…
Coming around to face her, the nurse helped Hitomi up and letting her lean on her for support. "Look through these windows…They can't let you in, or else, you'd fall asleep again…" She brought her right in front of the windows and although the white smoke was making it harder for her to focus and see what was in the room, Hitomi's heart broke at what she could see.
He was lying down, sleeping—
Hewon't wake up
—on a cot in the middle of the room in a pair of white knee-length shorts. White smoke surrounded him completely. He was very still.
Too still.
Van was wrapped almost head to toe in white bandages. There were bloodied bandages wrapped around his eyes, the back of his head, and around his shoulder. His mouth was kept shut by black metal rods and his right arm was in a sling. His ankle was bandaged as well and there was a wrap of cloth hugging at his midsection over his ribs. Each breath he took looked pained, even though he was asleep.
There was blood everywhere. On the floor, soaking in his bandages…"The doctors had finally finished with his wounds a day ago. He's been unconscious ever since he got here. His majesty had gotten himself into quite a fight…"
Hitomi felt her stomach curl as she tried to stay upright. She let out a groan and tried to take deep breaths. Oh Van…Van, what happened to you? I'm sorry…I'm so sorry… Still staring at Van, she noticed how much he was hurt. He looked so pale…so cold...so thin…so fragile with all the white bandages and casts placed on his body. The bones that were not broken protruded out of his skin sickly and the amount of blood……She didn't want to think about it anymore.
"Milady? Do you wish to go back to bed?" The nurse asked, trying to shake her out of her staring. Hitomi nodded slowly and let the woman sit her down again. Hitomi did not speak a word after seeing Van and the nurse had to be content with the sounds of the metal wheels rolling along the pavement. It hurts my heart to see everyone more or less like that…The nurse had seen soldiers who were in Lord Van's condition before and worse; some had made it…
But most had died.
The war from Zaibach had its share of fatalities and she was no stranger to heartbreak and suffering. But there was something about that king that made her especially sadden by his injuries. He will face a tough road ahead if he lives…
The white smoke was starting to get to Hitomi again. She felt dizzy and tired…very light-headed; as if she was floating. Oh God…Oh God…Her heart hurt so much. She just wanted to cry until she couldn't do it anymore. He's hurt so badly…She paused as her mind forced her to conclude something that her heart did not want to believe…He might not make it…Van might die…
She was barely aware when the nurse had made it back to her room again and began to lay her down again on her cot. Everything was going by too fast for any part of her body to keep up with. No…no…it's not supposed to be this way at all…And before she could stop it, Hitomi began to cry. No…God, please…it can't be this way…
"Are you in pain, milady?" The nurse asked her, noticing her tears and discomfort. Hitomi did not answer her and continued to sob. Looking on with sympathetic eyes, the nurse understood. She stood by Hitomi's bed for a little while before leaving her to get her some sleeping medicine. Such grief…Such grief for one woman to handle…
Her body shook with sobs. No coherent thoughts passed through her head as the shock of the situation was finally settling in. Many people had died. Many people hang in the balance. There was suffering everywhere. Merle…Millerna…Allen…The soldiers…Chid……Van…
Just because Shina wanted it…
Just because they couldn't figure it out fast enough…
The tears continued to roll down her cheeks and the pain in her soul intensified. As she sobbed, she smelled something sweet in the air again. Hitomi turned her head to the side to try and tell the nurse that she didn't want to sleep, that she just wanted to cry,but she couldn't make the words. Her eyelids drifted shut in between a sob but did not reopen.
Under her closed eyelids as tears stopped escaping…
The pendant was there with millions of red feathers.
And then, she drifted into unconsciousness.
Wow. Sorry for the filler chapter…Hope you enjoyed it anyway! The next chapter will be a sad one…or a good one…whichever way you look at it.
Basically, Shina's pure evil and she just wants to corrupt everything. :D Random little realization for Hitomi in that middle sequence; kinda trying to tie in all that stuff I remember from english ingrade 10 aboutthe evil inhuman nature...ANYWAY, I hope all of my descriptions were good…blah. I really hope that I captured sadness as the mood.
Exams are coming up and yeah, I need to study for them. However, the summer is coming quickly! HURRAY FOR FREE TIME!
PLEASE REVIEW! I'll love you forever!