Just when I thought that I would have more time to update… and my fanfic doesn't update for over a month. . ;; Oy…
Sorry, all. I've had more time constrains pop up over the past week, including High School swimming and, unsurprisingly, more projects.
But, of course, I'm still trying to write as much and as fast as I can without posting up gibberish. Despite that, I still think there's something missing in my story…. Writing-wise. Eh, I dunno. My editor, Sarah, threatened me to update…
Anyways, thanks again for all the reviews! They make this one a very happy and grateful girl, so they do.
I'm probably going to keep up with the last chapter summaries, considering my dreadful update habits.
Onward! And please don't forget to review!
Speaking of reviews…
Kyle- Darnit, watch Escaflowne first before asking so many darn questions! And stop… like… talking 'bout wrist cutting and stuff. You're distressing Emily. Gah.
Macky- Thanks for the review!
Emily- I know, you're always confused
Blitz KriegHerr- Eep. O.o;; Please don't kill me. That would be… bad… and I have enough assasins on me right now as is… -nervous laugh-
Inda- Well, here it is. The next chapter. Thanks for the review!
Avelyn Lauren- Yup, yup, you're right there. But, of course, yes, Merle and Kei'll push 'em along.. hehe. Thanks for reviewing!
There was a demand for fluff. A death threat, I think. So here we go. FLUFF! -waves arms around-
Eternity Dragons
Chapter Eight – "Father and Daughter"
Last time… Kei and Hitomi have explained their story to Van, who accepts it without hesitation. Meanwhile, nearby, 4 cat women are waiting for their chance to strike. Night falls and, sure enough, enemy guymelefs descend upon the Fanelian castle in attempt to kidnap Hitomi but mistake her for Kei. As Skylar, Aelis, Mina, and Jetta puzzle over which girl is the real Kanzaki, Kei falls from her captured position, summoning a jet black Escaflowne. Wasting no time, the cat assassins steal Kei and the ebony guymelef, flying off into the night and leaving Hitomi and Van to watch their friend get kidnapped….
Van growled softly, setting Hitomi down as the large figure of five melefs began fading into the horizon. His anger spread and soon enough, his hands began shaking. "How dare they… sneak in during the middle of the night to kidnap an innocent girl! They had been coming after Hitomi and yet they left with Kei."
That girl… the draconian had summoned the black Escaflowne, which had seemingly come out of nowhere. None of it made sense.
His head would have been spinning if it wasn't busy being filled with rage. Next to him, Hitomi was struggling not to cry or whimper, shivering in the cold. What were they going to do? Kei was gone and they had no way of following them. Van's guymelef, after all, had been deactivated, and he surely couldn't carry her all the way to wherever the cat women were going on his wings alone.
In her clenched hands was her pendant, glowing faintly, but in her rapidly beating heart was guilt. Guilt and worry. She should have been the one to be kidnapped, not Kei. She had been responsible for her. "It's my fault…. All… my fault. Oh, Kei…"
Van frowned darkly and his wings disappeared behind him. In the castle, there were rising cries of alarm and running footsteps towards the guestroom area. "Hitomi, stay here." Without another word, he turned on his heel and ran in a sprint, heading around the castle.
Hitomi knew where he was heading. To Escaflowne.
Startled, she gasped and turned. "What? Van!"
Her green eyes narrowed slightly as she realized what was happening. She was getting left behind. "Stay here? Van… wait up!" Breaking into a run, she dashed after him desperately, not relishing the thought of staying behind by herself.
As soon as she had caught up, Van abruptly turned and headed right into the castle through a side door, Hitomi being forced to run behind him. Together, the two of them tore down the dimly lit hallways, the Fanelian king leading the way. Luckily, this side of the building hadn't awoken yet from the attack, or word hadn't reached them yet. Either way, Van and Hitomi met no one and, without pause, they burst through the last door, leading outside right into the royal gardens.
Recognition flickered in Hitomi's mind for a moment. This is where they had come in their first day in Fanelia. Which would lead to….
"No! Van!" She gasped, stumbling slightly as she ran into the forest which Van had just disappeared into seconds ago. It was dark, as the tall trees covered the bright moon beams. However, the pendant began to glow a pale pink again the second Hitomi had rushed in the woods and she could easily pick out Van's dark figure ahead of her. They seemed to have been going along a path, as Hitomi could feel no grass beneath her feet and no branches whipped out at her face.
No doubt, Van had traveled along this trail before.
Just as Hitomi felt her lungs begin to burn and her breath start to come in short, frantic gasps, the lines of trees suddenly ended, opening into a great clearing, filled with moonlight.
Hitomi slowed to a stop, filling her lungs with much needed air as she looked around to see where they were. It didn't take long to figure out. Van had led them straight to the royal garden. There was the burial place of Van's father. And there was the still, gray Escaflowne… but where was Van?
Panic froze her stomach as the Mystic Moon girl looked around, taking a few steps forward to get a better view of the clearing. Van, however, was nowhere to be found. Hitomi couldn't hold back an anxious sob, bringing her hands up to clutch at the pendant. "Van…"
She didn't have long to worry, though. The familiar red shirt popped up again as the Fanelian King walked out from behind the large memorial, holding something in his hand. Hitomi's eyes widened in surprise as the tears that had been threatening to start falling vanished. Now, irritation popped up. She glowered slightly at him. "Van, where'd you go? Don't scare me like that! Van… Van?"
Uncertainty spread along her features. It was obvious the boy hadn't heard a word she had said. The fierce, angry expression was enough evidence for that. But that wasn't what Hitomi was concentrating on. It was what he was holding and where he was going.
In his hand was the drag energist from their old adventure, as she could now see. The one that had began the whole fiasco in the first place, sending Hitomi off with Van to Gaea. It was the energist that had also, in the end, sent her home. But what it also was…
That dragon energist was in fact the power source and heart of the Ispano guymelef, Escaflowne. And Van was walking towards his old war mecha with that same determined frown that often scared Hitomi. Her pendant glowed even brighter in what Hitomi knew was a reaction to the energist. She felt her stomach sink into apprehension. She never thought that Van would have planned to keep the energist in a safe place, just in case.
Van Fanel climbed up onto the bent knee of Escaflowne. Drawing his sword silently, he slid the blade over his thumb, causing a cut and a few drops of blood to rise to the surface of his skin. Kanzaki could not even see what he was doing, despite the moonlight, but she had a good idea. Before she knew what she was doing, her feet were carrying her up next to the Escaflowne and she was yelling, gripping the necklace so hard, any regular chain and pendant would have long broken. "Van, please don't! Don't use Escaflowne!"
The boy king paid her no mind. "I bind myself by blood pact to thee, Escaflowne…" He muttered almost inaudibly, sheathing his sword and, with one hand, thrust the large pink stone deep into the "heart" of the guymelef.
"Please, Van! You don't have to use Escaflowne again!" Hitomi tried again, anxious.
For a moment, nothing happened. A look of puzzlement flashed across Van's features as he withdrew his hand, waiting for the familiar pale glow to show that Escaflowne had awoken from his slumbers.
There was a sudden screeching noise from deep within the melef and, with a bright flash of pink, Van was thrown from his perch, sailing across the clearing to slam into the ground, rolling for a while until finally, his journey was painfully stopped by a large oak.
"VAN!" Screamed Hitomi, running to Van. Neither of them noticed the energist innocently falling to the ground with a dull thud.
"Van, are you ok?" She fell to her knees next to Fanel, who in turn sat up, groaning softly in pain.
"Damn it…" He growled, wiping a trail of blood from his mouth impatiently with a gloved hand. With a glare at Escaflowne, he sighed in frustration, slamming the now bloody hand into the ground. "Damn it!"
Hitomi felt helpless, for she was just as confused as Van was. She stared down at the boy, her eyes wide as she unknowingly held her breath. Why had Escaflowne rejected the energist so violently? "Van, please…"
Her love before her was staring intensively down at the ground, looking defeated. Not only was Merle now gone, so was the new girl, Kei! All of this happened right under his nose, with him not being able to help either of them. Even Hitomi could have been lost to him… and it would have been all his fault.
Van choked. The helplessness, desperation, and defeat filling his very soul. He couldn't take it anymore. The past few weeks events, swirling inside of him, tore out all shreds of patience were gone. It was too much…. As he was about to release a ravaged yell, he felt arms wrap firmly around him and the emotion-releasing scream died instantly in his throat. Van blinked momentarily in surprise when he saw Hitomi was the one who had, without warning, pulled him into a tight embrace.
She had been watching him in silence before she realized that he needed her help. Not physically, but mentally. Pushing back her own hearts weaknesses for now, she had knelt down next to Van and laced her arms in a gentle but resolute manner around him. "I know how you feel, Van," She said in a soft voice, not really knowing where the sudden words were coming from. "You just have to believe. Believe that Kei will be alright. That Merle is going to be fine. Have faith. We can do this, we can save them, but we have to think before we act right now."
As she spoke, Van's body slowly relaxed as he listened, his eyes half closed. "Hitomi…"
"Once we plan out what we're going to do, without acting rashly, we'll be able to get Kei and Merle back." Done with her unexpected, firm words, Hitomi buried her face into Van's shoulder, closing her eyes as her tight hold around him became weaker.
For a few moments, the two of them were still, Van neither replying nor moving. Finally, he gave off a tired sigh and turned to enfold the girl in his arms. "I'm sorry, Hitomi. I don't know what came over me. You're right." He said in a hushed voice.
"It's just…" Briefly, Hitomi looked up, her emerald eyes shining again with unshed tears. "… it's just that… I'm worried for you, too, Van! I don't want you to lose control… because…" Her voice grew quiet as she turned her head away. "Because…"
As Van blinked, Hitomi suddenly blurted out, "Because I love you, Van! I don't want anything to happen to you… I've seen you through enough pain already…" Her tone sank to a whimper as she couldn't even meet his gaze any longer, a blush coming to her cheeks. "There, I finally said it. I knew it was true… but I never told him before…. I care for you so much, Van…. I can't see you in any more pain."
Whatever was left Van's anger deflated at that moment. His eyes grew soft and he smiled his rare smile. "I love you too, Hitomi. You know I do."
He moved one hand to gently cup her cheek and Hitomi blushed fiercely, feeling the warmth from his gloves spread through her face.
Leaning down and, at the same time, pulling her closer to him, Van hesitated for just a second, moments away from achieving a kiss. He stared into her eyes and Hitomi surprised him by closing the small distance between them, pressing her lips against his. The king's eyes widened in shock, then closed, as did Hitomi's. The girl felt something like electricity shoot down her spine, a reaction of Van's touch.
For what seemed like ages, the two of them sat there, wrapped in each others arms and warmth, reveling in a closeness that they had not yet achieved. It ended quickly, though. Van pulled back, breaking the kiss, and, enveloping his love more securely in his arms, he stood. Hitomi blinked in surprise as she was suddenly being carried in Van's arms bridal style. "Eh… Van?"
He grinned, starting back off into the forest, leaving behind the still dead Escaflowne and the forgotten energist, "C'mon. We have to get started on planning Kei's and Merle's rescue, don't we?"
With a smile, the girl wrapped her arms around Van's neck to keep her balance and nodded. "Right."
Kei's eyes fluttered open to bright sunshine. With a soft groan, she sat up, rubbing at her head where her mind told her there should be a bump from hitting whatever broke her fall. However, there was nothing there but a few blades of grass that stuck to her hair.
A soft, chuckling voice that reminded Kei of small, silver bells interrupted her confusion. "Sylvie, I see you're finally awake."
Kei looked at who was sitting next to her. A smiling, beautiful woman with long, brown hair past her shoulders, her eyes a startling green. She was wearing a pretty, light green sundress and from her back extended two pairs of wings.
Draconian wings, Kei's mind filled in. Gasping, Kei became wide awake.
"M-mom?"
She continued to smile, but then her perfect face changed to one of concern, a frown marring her features. "What's wrong, love?"
"Oh… nothing." Kei forced a small smile and looked around. She was sitting on a small hill, covered with flowers. Below them were fields, rivers… beautiful, free nature. There was a gentle breeze, bringing in scents of different flowers and warm air. And up in the bright, cloudless sky hung Earth. The Mystic Moon.
"So I'm still in Gaea… this must be … a dream…" She whispered, biting her lip as she saw her own wings spread and that she was dressed in a comfortable, pale blue sundress.
She didn't know where exactly she was, or how she knew that the women next to her was her mother, but it was obvious she was dreaming.
"Mother?"
"Yes, Sylvie?"
"Sylvie…" Kei thought. "That must be... my real name."
A sudden lump came up in her throat. "Where's… where's Dad?"
Kei heard the tinkling silver bells again. "Oh, Sylvie... you know how busy he is…Harakei!"
The last word Kei's mother said was sharp, unlike the calm, laughing voice she had been hearing. Indeed, the mother in the sundress was gone, replaced by a standing woman in a ragged cloak. "Harakei, you must wake up."
"Mom?" Kei quickly stood. The warm, relaxed atmosphere around her was gone. "What's going on?"
"Kei, my daughter, I cannot tell you just yet. For now, you must wake up!"
Kei looked into the face of a worried version of her mother. "Why?"
"This is not a dream. Nor is it a memory." The woman said urgently, ignoring the confused look Kei was giving her. "Awaken, my daughter! Awaken!"
"Mom!" Kei's eyes shot open to look up into many bright, stinging lights. Shielding her eyes, she slowly sat up, looking around for the woman who was long dead. "Mom?"
No one answered. In fact, there didn't seem to be anyone in the room at all.
"So it was a dream…" Dejected, Harakei looked down at her lap, where she noticed a few tubes protruding from her wrists. More were attached to her neck and head. Without thinking, she took each of the plastic tubes and pulled, ripping out all of them and ignoring the stinging pain.
This was quite perplexing. She was in a strange room with lights, sitting on a metal table. She had woken to find tubes sticking out of her, and she had no idea where she was, or where her captors had gone to. After all, everything that had happened came right back to her. The four cat women and the huge guymelef things, the pendant glowing…
"The pendant!" Gasping, her hand flew to her neck. It was gone. Her only link to home, to Hitomi… gone.
"Missing something?" A door she hadn't spotted before was open, flooding the room with light from what Kei could see was a hallway. A man was approaching her, but she couldn't make out his face.
"Wh-Who's there?" She scrabbled backwards on the smooth surface of the table, filled with a strange fear that she couldn't banish. It had come into her soul as soon as that man had walked in. That man she was scared to death of for a reason she didn't understand.
"Someone who doesn't want to hurt you. Calm down, girl." The man's voice… despite his fear-inducing presence, the words he had spoken calmed her heart. She had heard that voice before, but from where exactly, she didn't know. Her body, not listening to what her mind was screaming, which was to run away, relaxed. She breathed heavily, staring up at the man until he came into view.
The first thing that caught her was his grey eyes. They were intense and seemed to burn right into her soul. Her mouth hung open in shock, but she quickly caught herself and put on a fierce face. "Who are you?"
He didn't answer at first, looking over at all the rejected tubes. Finally, he looked back at her, grinning in a friendly way. "My name is Torran."
Kei had a good look at Torran. He was tall and lanky, and, if she had to guess, about in his late 30's. He had unruly, jet black hair that, although rather short, resembled Van's hair somewhat. There was a kindly look about him, and his face, clean-shaven, was set with that same friendly grin, his eyes no longer frightening, but matching the grin.
The girl wasn't even surprised anymore that he seemed somewhat familiar. Ever since she had been on Gaea, everything had seemed familiar. But just then, Torran spoke again.
"It seems you didn't like our dream generator…"
"Your… what?" Kei blinked, perplexed.
Torran pointed at the tubes. "We were giving you dreams of your deepest desire. So I won't ask you what you were dreaming about…"
So that explained it. Why that dream couldn't have been possible. She had just been wishing for mother. To live a normal life, with her real family. The truth came with a sting of pain, though. The wishes betrayed her foster family, who she had also come and love. Kei noticed the man named Torran watching her closely and she moved forward to sit on the table with her legs hanging over the edge. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why am I here? Why did you kidnap me? Why did you come after me and Hitomi in the first place? Why did you stick tubes in me? Why?" She frowned, now angry at what was happening.
Torran simply chuckled. "Ah. Well… you're here because we need you here. We kidnapped you by mistake."
Kei interrupted him. "By mistake?"
A look of irritation and impatience flicked on Torran's face, but it was quickly gone, replaced with a shrewd smile. "Yes, I'm afraid… the Four Assassins could not figure out that you were not, in fact, Hitomi Kanzaki and that the Dragon was not your black Escaflowne. They are being taken care of as we speak."
Kei didn't even notice the dark shadow that passed over his eyes as she blurted out more questions. "My Escaflowne? What did you do with it? And what did you do to Hitomi and Van?"
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you anything else but that the girl from the Mystic Moon and the Fanelian King are left unharmed and still in Fanelia, safe and sound." Torran answered simply, looking calm once more.
In a flash, Kei was up with her hands clutching at Torran's shirt, her grey eyes glaring into his. Her voice was a mere growl as she spoke. "Give me back the Escaflowne… and let me go."
The man didn't even flinch but continued to gaze coolly at her. "I'm afraid I can't do that…"
"No!" She screamed, furious. "Just let me go!"
"But that is where you're wrong, dear. Why do you think you managed to summon the black guymelef?" He leaned in closer, dropping to a whisper. "You belong here."
Her eyes narrowed. "And where exactly is here?"
"The home of your father, Sylvie. Your home."
Kei gasped, releasing Torran and stumbling back into the table, staring at the man with a horrified expression. The man who was her father, with the identical hair and eyes. "No…"
Everything inside of her was screaming that this wasn't possible, despite that fact that Torran knew her real name, which was proof enough. How could it be? She had been raised on the Mystic Moon because both of her parents had died. If her father was still alive…. Quite alive, and living on the Mystic Moon… then…
"You abandoned me?"
Torran looked pained. "Never abandoned, my dear daughter. You were sent to the Mystic Moon so that you could live a peaceful life. Free from all the hardships you would have had to face here. It was both mine and your mothers, Sara's, wish… please, believe me…" He took a step towards her, pleading.
She could only stare, her mind not able to form any coherent words.
"But now you are old enough, Silvara. Old enough to join the last Draconian kinsmen, bearing the proud name of Fanel." As he moved closer, Kei could see a crazed gleam in his eyes.
"F-Fanel?" She managed to gasp out, leaning on the table as far back as she could go to get away from this insane man.
"Yes… I am the last in the great line of Fanel that does not hide his Draconian trait. I am the brother of Vari Fanel, who you may know to be Van Fanel's mother. Which makes you and the young king…" He smirked.
Kei finished his sentence, breathless. "… cousins."
"Join me, Silvara Fanel. Join me and come home, for together you and I will achieve…"
"Achieve what?" She asked, blinking.
Torran seemed to hesitate, then smiled, crazed, leaning in closer. "In ridding this world of all the evil and vile things that are attached to it. Together. Father and Daughter.
As he spoke, he unfurled his own wings. There were streaks of black in the feathers but Kei could only stare. She struggled to keep her breathing even and steady as she pressed a hand to her forehead. There was too much information for her to take in at once. First, she was kidnapped, then realized that her father was not dead and that she was related to the king of a land she barely knew on a planet where she was actually from but not raised. By now, the missing pendant and Hitomi were far from her mind.
"Father… maybe I should join him… maybe I really am… home."
In any case, she had no choice in the matter. She was at their mercy. Lowering her head, she nodded in defeat, then gasped sharply as Torran Fanel pulled her into an embrace. My daughter… welcome home."
So there ya go. Van and Hitomi fluff. Or, at least, an attempt at fluff. And Kei's relation to Van revealed. In case some of it was confusing…
Torran Fanel and Sara Fanel are the draconian parents of Silvara, or Silvie Fanel. Silvie was sent to the Mystic Moon, where she was taken in by regular humans and renamed Harakei Hamano. Torran is the brother of Vari Fanel, who was the wife of Goau, and they were the parents of Van and Folken. Thus, Van and Kei are cousins, both have black hair and draconian wings, etc.
Just to clear some things up…
Anyways, don't forget to review!