It's been years since I updated this story, but I'd like you all to know that it is being revived! I've updated the previous chapters with some small grammar issues but I promise to give it a complete overhaul when I'm finished with the story.

I know it's been a while and some of my intended story arcs may not be exactly as I remember them, but hey, no one will know the difference, right? Hehe

Disclaimer: I do not own Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It belongs to the wonderful Hayao Miyazaki and to Studio Ghibli.

Whistle Against the Wind

Chapter 6 - Escape

The dungeon was dark. The lone candle that Asbel had used as his only light source had burned out days ago. How long had he even been down there? A week? A month? Time seemed so irrelevant.

A small light came from the top of the stairwell that seemed to be his only source of happiness each day. His daily meal. Grafton clunked his heavy boots down the steps, holding a tray of what looked like bread and water again. "Such a satisfying meal" Asbel grimaced, but immediately caught himself as his stomach growled loudly.

Grafton simply walked up to him, threw the tray at his feet, and made his way back up the stairs.

"Thanks a lot, jerk…" Asbel muttered, but he began eating his only meal with vigor.

It had been several days since Prince Cáel personally informed him of the tragic news of his death. And Asbel wept. He wept for his lonely mother and his people. But mostly, he wept for Nausicaä.

"If only I hadn't been caught… If only I had been able to tell her what I had heard." But it was no use. Ifs wouldn't help him anymore. Ifs wouldn't help Nausicaä anymore. The deep pain in his chest that caused him so many nightmares only seemed to further his will to make it out of that dungeon alive.

He wasn't going to die down there. And he certainly wasn't going to let Nausicaä marry that man.

Two weeks had passed since Nausicaä learned of Asbel's death. His funeral had been tragic, his mother unable to be consoled. There was no body, as Grafton later claimed it had been eaten, but a place for his gravestone had been established in the valley's cemetery.

Nausicaä felt so alone. She constantly had Prince Cáel at her heels, her wedding planner wouldn't leave her alone, and the sadness in her people's and the people of Pejite's eyes loomed over her while she slept. She was crowded, but alone.

Prince Cáel wanted the wedding as soon as possible and he insured that it would be nothing short of immediate. In only one week, she'd be the proud wife of a man she barely knew. In one week her life would be once again pulled out from under her like a rug beneath a three-legged table.

Oh how Nausicaä wished for someone to talk to. Someone to take her mind off of everything, to make her smile. The lifelessness that she had seen her eyes at Prince Cáel's arrival only seemed to have deepened. With Asbel's passing, she knew it would take a long time before the sparkle ever returned.

It was late in the evening, Asbel could tell. It always got colder in the dungeon as night approached. The water that ran through the aqueduct on the ceiling always intensified at night due to the increased winds. Yes, night had fallen.

His wrists hurt from the chains that bound him to his living hell, but it was no use trying to remove them. But it was the only way if he wanted to escape and rescue Nausicaä from the prince.

Grafton had been nice enough to replace the candle on the wall when he came to retrieve Asbel's tray, giving him just enough light to examine his surroundings. Nothing had changed in the weeks that had gone by but that didn't mean there wasn't something that could help his situation. He had thought over many times about various ways to escape but nothing ever seemed to work. His chains were attached to bricks within the walls of the dungeon and Asbel knew that nothing around him could break him free of the chains.

Suddenly, his eyes widened. The bricks, perhaps… maybe he could work with those.

Glancing around, he saw that Grafton had missed the butter knife he had given him for his bread (which conveniently did not have any butter served with it.) His hands still bound, he grabbed the knife and jammed it into the wall between two bricks. He began to chisel the mortar out from in between the bricks that held his chains in place.

Was Nausicaä already married? Dead? How was his mother? His people? The questions that raced through his mind only intensified his efforts. And, soon enough, the two bricks that held his chains to the wall had loosened enough for him to pull them free.

The moon was high and Nausicaä found herself staring out her window. Down in the village below, her people bustled about, bidding each other farewell for the evening and readying everything for the night. Her room had been her solitude and the one place she felt at ease lately, but her people rarely saw her. She was glad they understood that she was grieving her friend's death, but something else had woken up in her. An unease that grew with each passing day she stared into the seemingly innocent eyes of the prince.

But this was about Asbel. Sure, Asbel would go running off into danger without thinking, but she knew he knew better. He had to. He was the ruler of his people now and doing things that reckless wasn't in his nature anymore. His journey with Lord Yupa was an important one that his people knew he had to take. So why would he risk his life so carelessly as he had? It just didn't make sense. Did something happen when he was on his journey with Lord Yupa? She honestly had confined herself to her room so much that she hadn't sat down and spoken to Lord Yupa at all. He seemed to have kept his distance as well, but why, she wasn't quite sure.

A knock on her door startled her but she quickly regained her composure. "Yes?"

"It's Mito, princess. May I have a word?"

Nausicaä straightened up and wiped the tear that had begun to fall down her face. "Of course."

Mito slowly opened her door, knowing full well she would be at her window, a look of concern flooding his face.

Nausicaä paled when she saw his face.

"Princess, I have something you might want to see."

His shackles now free from the dungeon walls, Asbel began flinging them as hard as he could at the wall, hoping the bricks would break. He felt his resolve weakening, as they hit the other bricks over and over, but seemed unable to even crack. His diet of mostly bread and water (with an occasional apple) didn't do much to keep him strong in the dungeon. But damn it all if he would let that stop him now.

With the last of his strength, he whipped the bricks at the wall. It seemed that finally, luck was on his side. They both cracked straight down the middle, the clay bricks crumbling around his feet. Sure, he still had two-foot long chains around his wrists but hey, he was free. He reached his hand up to his face to wipe away the sweat and ran a hand through his very dirty hair.

"My hat…" He wished he had it now. It was his good luck charm. He was wearing it when he met Nausicaä, when they saved the valley, when he traveled with Lord Yupa… and now, he just felt empty. "I must have lost it when Grafton pulled me off that ledge…"

But now was not the time to reminisce about an article of clothing. He knew Grafton wouldn't be by until the next morning but he still needed to act quickly. The longer he was gone without them knowing, the better.

The aqueduct that ran along the ceiling was supported in the corners of the right wall by pillars. Long ago they held torches and candles, but Asbel knew full well the prince had no intention of using them. Adrenaline surged through his veins as he took hold of one of the torch holders, braced against the pillar, and pulled himself up. The aqueduct was still about ten feet above his head but definitely doable. His feet barely fitting onto the diameter of the empty metal torch holder, he bent his knees and jumped. His hands were slippery with sweat and they had a hard time finding a grip on their intended target. But he held fast. The shackles around his wrists pinched his skin with excruciating pain but he pressed on. Now wasn't the time to think about that.

He pulled himself up and into the water. His options were to follow the flow further into the castle or to follow it back to its source. "I won't do any good to Nausicaä if I get captured again…" and with that, he began his slow trudge against the flow of the aqueduct.

Nausicaä's eyes were wide in shock and her breath seemed to have completely left her.

It was Asbel's hat.

She jumped up from her windowsill seat and raced to Mito, the surprised look never leaving her face. She didn't know if she should be happy or cry.

"Mito, where… where did you get this?" she said slightly above a whisper. She took the hat from his hands and gently held it to her chest.

"One of the guards found it on patrol the other day, just below the tower where Prince Cáel is staying. I saw one of them wearing it today and immediately knew to whom it belonged."

Nausicaä felt that twang of unease twist in her stomach again. "Mito… you and I know well that Asbel would never leave without his hat." That was it. The thing that was out of place with the whole situation revolving Asbel's death. Of course, she couldn't piece it together until now, but somehow she knew that it was there, waiting for her to find it.

"You said they found it at the base of the prince's tower?" Nausicaä had a bad feeling about that part but somehow that only made her feel all the more strong.

"He's alive."

A/N: Kind of a short chapter but I just wanted to get things started again. I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!

-brigette (Kaze-no-Tenshi89)