Amare Dividere
Title: Reluctant Truths, pt. 1 [Part Eight]
Series: Vision of Escaflowne
Rating: PG-13 for some violence.
Seated quietly, staring out her window, Eries fingers the pendant of a locket in her hands. The advisors had agreed with her on the reply she finally sent off to Hitomi and Fanelia, pledging mutual support. Dryden had even agreed to it, and Allen had grudgingly agreed to it as well. He somehow seemed proud of her.
The Egzardian nobles had sent their apologies with the next letter that Hitomi drafted to Eries, saying that their forces, once mustered again, would be bolstering Fanelia, since the queen had agreed to protect them while their country was indisposed and occupied by the Norte.
There is a knock on the door.
"Come in," Eries says quietly, eyes still trained out the window and on the distant mountains. She missed, truthfully, the convent and its simple way of life. The sisters were a comfort, and the quiet there was endless. It both suited her needs and left her restless, but staring up at the Floresta mountains, she felt the call of the silence once again.
Celena stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Princess," she says in a soft, tired voice.
"What is it, Celena?"
"I've come to speak with you about my brother," she replies, blue eyes lowered respectfully, falling on the necklace in Eries' lap. She recognizes it instantly. As a child, she and Allen had been given similar ones, made as copies of the necklace their mother wore. When Encia had passed away, the princess had been given the necklace as a default, since Allen had run away from his home, and it was the one thing of the family's that she had kept out of storage.
The rest had been returned to Allen when he became a Knight Caeli, though he hadn't unpacked any of his mother's things until Celena had returned.
"What about your brother?"
Swallowing and moistening her lips, Celena forces herself to continue, having been thrown off by seeing the princess's care in handling the necklace, and the fondness she showed it. "You two are engaged," the younger woman finally says, lifting her eyes to regard the princess's finally.
"We were betrothed at birth," Eries corrects her, motioning with a pale hand for the younger woman to come closer and take a seat on the divan across from her, "but it is something that has not been honored by either party. And it is obvious from his past behavior that your brother has never thought of me in the manner that would be required of him were he my husband."
"He has always thought you were above him," Celena replies, stepping forward to look out the window quietly. She thought she could hear pain in the princess' voice. But she wasn't sure. It was hard to be sure of Eries' emotions, even for the princess herself. Reading her was like trying to climb a mountain in mid-winter… something that Celena can almost remember having done. "From what he's told me, Marlene's advances were-"
"My sisters have always had more beauty than I," Eries says, cutting off whatever explanation Celena had for her brother's behavior. "It is something I have known since I was very small, something my father knew as well, and made obvious to me. I take after my mother in that regard, and he sought to save me the pain of watching them happily married by gaining me a husband when I was young."
"If you told him-"
"What good would telling Allen that he has wronged me without knowing it do him? Or me? I am not so malicious as all that, Celena," she says softly, extending the hand with the necklace in it to her. "It would hurt him, needlessly. Your brother does not care for me, but the honor he has found in himself in the past few years would be wounded by the knowledge you and I hold, and whereas once the idea of being married was once more important to me than love and the feelings of others, I find circumstances have changed."
"What do you mean?" Celena replies, shaking her head slightly at the necklace. She did not want to take it back, if it meant what she thought the princess meant it to. Allen deserved someone like Eries, in her mind, someone who could truly make him happy, and be a match for him, rather than just another pretty thing on his arm.
"The betrothal cannot be taken back, since those that betrothed us are no longer among us. However, I can take a vow to become one of the sisters at the convent I will return to when Millerna returns, and free him up for someone he does care about."
"But, Princess… why would you sacrifice-?"
"It is little sacrifice, since I am not giving up anything that I knew before." Again, Eries offers up the necklace to Celena. "You should be the one to have this," she says with a kind smile, "it was, after all, your mother's."
Saying goodbye to Selassie had been harder than Nileyah could imagine. She had not seen her daughter in several years, since just after the girl had started to walk. It made her feel proud that her pale haired daughter was doing so well for herself in the Consortium.
Especially since she had been passed over for the most recent assignment that had come available. Although, in reflection, Nileyah is relieved that her daughter is not out amongst the people of Gaea, since the war brewing would mean that many of the Kathis would perish protecting those they were assigned to.
But she said goodbye and headed back to Zari the quickest way possible, though she has not truly managed to heal fully. There are still deep gashes on her wrists from where she fought against the manacles that held her in chains in the dungeon in Reyo, and her strength and health had not fully recovered. However, the decision was that it was most important that Cesario not be left defenseless without someone aware of the danger it was in.
In the pack on the back of her horse is a freshly forged sword, and medical supplies special to her wounds. Unlike other members of the Kathis, she needed special treatment for her wounds, in order to maintain her strength and appearance.
When she approaches the castle, the guards give her a warm welcome, though there is a bit of tension in the air. Tension that follows her straight into the presence of the country's sovereign, and down into her kneeling position at the Queen's feet.
"What brings you back so tardy, Nileyah?" Emman asks, eyes trained on the pale woman before her.
"I regret to inform you, Highness, that the me that was with you and left you before was not myself, but rather someone spying on Cesario for Norte."
"Really?" Emman frowns. She and Jasper had been having talks about Nileyah's behavior, and they had come to the eventual conclusion that she was either under a spell, or being impersonated. "If that is the truth, how can I be sure that the you that is here at the moment is the true you?"
"I am most certain the replacement that was here did little talking about things, and I offer myself up for examination and questioning to prove that I am who I claim. If I fail to convince you, I invite you to do with me what you wish."
Tilting her head, Emman glances to the alcove across from Nileyah, and nods slowly. "That won't be necessary," Jasper says, stepping out. "I'll know if it's you… but you have to stand and face me."
Keeping her head bowed, Nileyah rises to her feet, turning in the direction of Jasper's voice, feeling slightly cold at the idea of having him determine her fate.
"Why don't you look me in the eye, Nil?"
"Because I've failed you… again. You were in danger while I got captured, and it's entirely my fault that-"
Jasper reaches out and tilts her face up, brushing her shorn, dark hair from her face and regarding her eyes deeply for a long moment, searching. It is something he hadn't done since Palas, because he'd felt warded off by Nileyah in general.
It makes much more sense to him now, as he stares into her eyes and reads exactly what she had just said while kneeling before his mother. All he can see, and he can sense that she feels, is acceptance of his judgment.
If he turns her away, he knows, she will go willingly. As she had done other things willingly for him in the past. But despite knowing how much his choice must have hurt her, and how much going forward will hurt her, he cannot lie now and discredit her to his mother.
"It's her," he says, staring her in the eyes with a forlorn look. It would have been kinder, he thinks to himself, to have condemned her, after what he'd done while she had been gone. There's little lingering doubt in his mind, after the soul-searching moment, that it was largely his fault she had been off-guard enough to be caught.
And he cannot, he finds, turn her away after all the wrong he has done her.
Word finally comes to Freid from the Compound, by way of a small white bird that is sent to Fariah's window. It is exceedingly late at night, Chid already having gone to bed with his guards posted at the door when it arrives, and Fariah, seated near her window with her thick hair down as she brushes it, is slightly puzzled until she recognizes the creature as one that she raised while at the Compound.
"Rin?" she asks the little bird quietly and receives a chirp. Holding out her hand, the Kathis lifts her old pet from the windowsill, and finds a piece of paper wrapped around its leg. Carefully setting Rin down on her table, she slips off the piece of paper and stands, heading towards the open center area of her room.
The messages sent by Kathis aren't often just pieces of paper, she knows from her training, and so she goes to close the large wooden door before reciting the words on the small paper. The light filtering through the window in the evening seeming to condense until it forms the image of her childhood friend, Selassie.
"It is good to see you again, Fariah," she says with a smile, her pale features recreated perfectly, along with the fall of her richly decorated formal robes. "I trust the Duke is doing well?"
"Chid is sleeping peacefully, at the moment, under the watchful eyes of his sworn guard. I am not well liked in Freid, not well trusted because of Mahad's attitude. It has transferred to his attendants, and his son."
"His aunt, the Asturian Queen, has been kidnapped, and the Egzardian monarchs are in Fanelia."
"I am aware."
"We know where the Asturian woman is hidden, it behooves us to make the monarchs aware that she will likely not be harmed at all, regardless of the outcome." After a short pause, the pale haired woman adds, "My uncle is with her."
"Your uncle-"
"Is worse off than the missing queen, but in better stead as well. We are a strong family. When the time comes, he will do what is needful. Your Duke is among those we would have know what is known of the queen, since there are none in Asturia to send word to."
"The prince is not old enough, and Marlene had the Kathis, if I am not mistaken."
"She did, and it lead him to where you are, to replace a dead woman, and he died for his Duke. Freid is ever hard on its protectors, both serving and bred alike."
"Chid is not Mahad," Fariah says defensively.
"And you are not Erile or Leran. But I bid you be cautious, my friend. I would not like to see the beauty of the mountains and temples swallow another of our number so young."
"And you would not envy me this posting, or want to refill it yourself," Fariah replies, quick gray eyes even. "You are more his type than I anyway."
"It is not about types, Fari, you know that."
"Quite."
"The Mistress and the Council have decided that you are to get word to Eries and Dryden in Asturia of their queen's whereabouts. The rest is up to them, for the time being. We of the Kathis can do no more."
The enchantment from the scroll begins to fade, and the color copy of Selassie begins to fade from sight. Bowing her head, Fariah makes the sign of acceptance, and Selassie nods her head as well. "I hope you keep well and safe, Fariah, and that I will see you on good terms soon."
And with that, she is gone, and the paper in Fariah's fingers crumples and turns to dust. She lifts her hand, and Rin flaps over to her. Stroking the small creature's soft feathers, she pulls the door open and heads off, barefoot through the castle to try and find a small cage for him, more protection than hindrance for the bird, and so that she can keep her old pet a little while.
Something friendly in an unfriendly environment.
Fariah takes in a deep breath and turns on her heel, bare feet making little enough noise to be silent on the old, cold stone of the palace floors, and she steps into the hall, the shift she had worn to bed her only proof against the chill, though she does not notice it.
In the hallway she moves silently, thinking better of her actions, and sets the small bird reverently on her shoulder, heading to Chid's room. Pushing open the doors and disregarding the guards in the entranceways, those that tense at her disrobed approach, but make no move to stop her as she passes by them.
Closing the thick wooden doors behind her, she pauses a moment with her back against the carvings, feeling the aged wood like a comfort against her, and finally, she speaks. "Chid, my duke."
But he does not awaken immediately, and she has to repeat her call. Startled, he sits up quickly to regard his Kathis with a blank look before scowling. "It's the middle of the night, Fariah."
"And wars do not care whether it is the middle of the night or if you have had enough sleep and are well rested."
"Unless I've missed my guess, Freid isn't at war."
"But your aunt's country is. And Norte is their enemy."
"Please tell me you did not wake me up this early in the night to tell me something I already knew, Fariah." He frowns, glancing at her with cold blue eyes that are older than the prince himself.
"Not at all," she replies, folding her arms on her chest. Perhaps Chid is right, she reasons, perhaps the news could have waited until the morning, but then his mind would be weighed down with the worries of the crown. "But I have word that must be taken to the monarchs in Asturia, and either you will give me leave to travel, or we will be making the journey together."
"What can you possibly-?"
"That," she says in an arched voice, "is a matter for the morning. Think on my words, my Duke." She turns on her heel, bare feet taking her from his chamber, head held high and shoulders squared proudly, despite her lack of impersonal apparel.
For a moment, Chid stares after her, and then blinks, a slight blush raising to his cheeks. "I told you to call me Chid!" he shouts as the door closes firmly behind her.
"Your Highness," the courier bows before Hitomi, seated on her throne which stands lonely and empty beside Van's in the main hall of the Fanelian Castle, "I bring word from Asturia in response to your message."
"Rise, and bring it forward," Hitomi says, taking some comfort in the formality. Since Merle had named her illness, it had become much calmer, and Hitomi silently wonders if it is because it has a name. Of the advisors, only Peralis has been informed of her state, and of the servants, only her head lady in waiting. She relies on her crown and the position of Queen more and more, and knows the secrecy cannot hold out forever.
'Van,' she prays with her eyes closed slightly, 'come back soon.'
The letter is taken by one of the royal guard, and marched stiffly over to her. She breaks the seal on it and reads the words, handing it over to Peralis, who stands over her shoulder as she holds her weekly audience, hearing the problems the people see fit to bring before the throne.
After reading it as well, Peralis nods wordlessly.
"Please, feel free to rest yourself before we make our reply," Hitomi says, rising without further comment and heading towards her own exit, a single red gilded door leading to the rest of the palace. There are three such non-public exits from the throne room, not all of them known outside of herself, Merle, Van, and Peralis himself. The messenger had come towards the end of the audience, and the rest of the peasants and guildmasters would understand if she finished it the next day.
Allan's words from long ago return to her, and she takes some comfort in them as she crosses an open aired balcony towards the royal chambers. Outside it is raining, and the damp air freshens her senses. "Don't worry. Van will return, because the most important person in the world to him is here. You."