An even shorter chapter, sorry ; but you get to find out things Wink

Chapter 3: In the beginning there was...wings

Blood.

He felt it on is hands...but it was not his own...

He looked at Hitomi, still beneath him, still ready for impact, to embrace death. Van stood quickly and turned, Hitomi falling to her knees once more and looking up. There she was.

"Oh god" Hitomi muttered, hands over her mouth as she started crying again. She hung in the air, white wings, tinted red, from blood Van assumed, no-one knew but she was stained with it all over, in her hair, down her arms, face and dripped off her to hit the floor. Her wings finally gave and she started falling forward, her wings vanishing into the air, feather by feather. Before van could call upon his wings, he felt a gust of air as Hitomi shot off into the air to catch the girl, he shot after her shortly after. He reached her second, just as she was being caught and he took her from Hitomi, who's arms were blood stained now to.

They reached the floor and Van flew up after placing the girl on the floor to see what had happened to Dilandau. Dead. Van never thought he would see the day.

Hitomi was trying her best to stop the blood flow, she slowed it but could not stop it fully. "Hold on" Hitomi kept muttering to the weeping girl.

"Please Hitomi.." The girl coughed which made Hitomi look at her face "..take me...to...Escaflowne" She said between splutters of blood

"Why?" Hitomi questioned softly

"JUST DO IT!" The girl shouted with force which brought Van back to his senses and flying back to them. Hitomi quickly told him and he looked confused but complied. The wish of a dying girl, he would not refuse after they had saved there life "Quickly!" Hitomi whispered "She is loosing blood, fast" Van nodded and they took off out of the floating castle which unexpectedly exploded, shattering as they flew away from it.

"Hitomi..." Van asked as the girl in his arms was resting, just holding on "You have wings?" He had meant to ask before but much had happened in a short space of time.

"Later Van" She said as they neared the clearing which was the Royal family grave and where Escaflowne slept. He landed in front of it and placed the girl on her feet and she stumbled forwards, reaching the pink gem. She looked over to the people behind her.

"Thank you. Wait for me" She said before she placed her hand on the gem and it glowed and she disappeared into it. Hitomi gasped and Van stared at what he was seeing, she was going inside of the Escaflowne! It was madness. "I guess we have to wait now" Hitomi said quietly, looking at the blood stained patch of grass in front of the Escaflowne.

"Indeed" Van nodded and turned to her, taking her in is arms as more tears flowed. She looked up at him. "Did you mean what you said before Van?" This question took him by surprise. "Yes" He said holding her tighter as she smiled and rested her head on her chest. "I thought we were going to die for a moment though" Van said, voicing what they were both thinking "We owe that girl a lot" Hitomi nodded in response

"Yes we do, but i still haven't figured out who she is...or was..." Hitomi said no sure what to say about the young girl

"Don't be so pessimistic Hitomi!" Said a bright voice and the two winged being's turned to see the girl sat on Escaflowne's shoulder. She smiled and jumped down, no blood, cuts or gashes. She was still alive! Hitomi broke away from Van and tackled the girl, hugging her tightly. "Your hurting me!" She said in a squeezed voice and laughed when Hitomi broke away looking slightly embarrassed.

"Who are you? Why did you save us? Why do you have wings, like us?" Van started firing questions at the girl who looked annoyed and shouted "I just nearly DIED! Gimmie a break!" Van went silent and Hitomi laughed hen smiled at the girl.

"Will you tell us, a bit about yourself and what just happened?" Hitomi asked slowly and kindly. The girl nodded

"Well," She started, thinking how to word what she was saying "I was sent here, as duty to the king by my family, to protect you from what was going to happen to you today. The dream was just to warn you i was coming and to not be afraid of me.

"I followed Van, keeping close to both of you, using the magic my mother taught me by use of a stone, a great stone that i had inside of me. It takes the form of a drag energist. All happened when i was about 3, i was walking round mothers garden and hidden under the broken stone deep in the garden, I was amazed by it and picked it up. It had not been activated for over 17 years. It didn't have much power, thus didn't transport me anywhere, instead it went inside of me. My second heart" She put her hand over the other side of her chest from her heart and pulled ever so slowly, concentrating on what she was doing and out pulled a pink drag-energist. Hitomi gasped, This girl was telling the truth, there was no mistaking it. She placed it back in quickly.

"Since then, i haven't been able to live without my second heart. It keeps me alive and a force to be reckoned with." She said, standing straighter, she then sagged a bit and sighed "I can't tell you the full truth..if i did, id have to erase you memories and the queen would kill me..." She said

"Wait, queen?" Hitomi asked and the girl froze. "did i say that?" she asked and Hitomi nodded. "Well I've done it now, i might as well tell you everything and have brother make you forget when he come to get me." She lent against Escaflowne, looking up at it fondly.

"I am from 17 years in the future, future seer and princess" She said lowering her head again, to see there face. Hitomi's face hadn't changed much, she had suspected that she wasn't telling everything but Van looked very confused. "My name is Hikari. Princes Hikari Hitomi de'Fanel" She said simply and Van almost looked like he was going to die on the spot. Hitomi looked a little shocked to say the least. "My mother sent me back, to do what must be done, to nearly sacrifice my life to save my parents" This confirmed it and Hitomi's knee's gave out again, for the 3rd time that day. "But why...why would we do such a thing" She hadn't even noticed she had said "we" until Van gave her a funny look and she put her hands over her mouth. Hikari just laughed.

"Yes 'we' mother" She smiled sweetly at the woman who was only 5 years older than herself. "Oh yes, father" She said turning to Van who looked positively worried. "I am 15, not 14 as you thought when we first met" Hitomi smiled, Hikari could read minds, which was for sure. She spread her wings to show them. The tips were pale red and the rest a pure snowy white. "Brother has the same wings and should be here soon" and as if on que two people came through the forest. Hikari gasped and got down on one knee

"Brother, mother" She said quickly. Both Hitomi and Van stared at what stood before them. Hikari's older brother, was tall, well built and had short brown hair which was long over his ears and his eyes were different coloured, one a piercing maroon, like his sisters and one dark brown, almost black. He looked at Hitomi and Van and bowed to them before standing still next to the tall woman who was dressed in white. Her hair was still short, a gold tiara rested on her head, her eyes still a bright emerald. Her dress was a pure white with pale red along the bottom and on the end of the long flowing sleeves. She swore a 3 gold bangles on her left wrist and a gold ring. She wore a simple gold chain with an emerald on and her wings were pale red, but the top of her wings, had gold on them, some kind of armour Van assumed.

Her mouth curved into a smile upon seeing the younger version of herself and her love. She nodded to the boy next to her and Hitomi waved her arms, creating a slightly transparent rip in time.

"We must return" Came her voice, so soft and flowing, warming to the heart. She went through and Hikari moved quickly to hug her past mother and father before wishing them a sad farewell. The brother stopped. "Expect me again soon" he said slyly. Before Hitomi voiced what she was thinking he waved his arm in front of his face and the two fell to the ground, sleeping. He stepped through the rift, the gold armour of his wings, white wings with red tips like his sisters ,just like she said.

Hikari was praised for her good work, and was finally proved to go slay a dragon to get a drag energist, not that she needed one, she already had her mothers. She wanted to be the first female to take part in the ritual to get one like her older brother had done. This would mean she could become queen would anything happen to her brother. The ritual only happened because the King wanted it to remain that way, the day he had met Hitomi.