Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 26
At the Great Arena
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The final match pitted the 18-year-old knight, Erwin Heatherton, who was trained by Sir Vincent Holler, against a young 15-year-old prodigy, Stephen Stellar, who was trained by Sir Allen Schezar. After the first match, which lasted for nearly 30 minutes, all the other matches preceded much quicker averaging about 10 minutes a match.
The young fair-haired knight reminded his mentor of himself when he was but a lad. Though not as physically impressive as Allen had been even in his youth, the young Stephen Stellar was already very skilled with the sword before Allen began training him four months ago. Stephen managed to defeat his three opponents in less than five minutes each. Now he was facing his toughest opponent.
Erwin was regarded as the best young knight in Asturia. Capable of defeating many knights twice his age and with his mentor's expected retirement approaching, many within the Palace and amongst the Royal Guard suspected young Erwin would be the most likely candidate to replace Sir Vincent as a Knight of Heaven. Now the two young warriors faced off for the first time in the tournament championship.
Everyone in the arena looked on with great anticipation, everyone except Hitomi Kanzaki, who was still struggling with her vision and how she possibly could prevent it. She reasoned, 'I've been able to prevent other visions I've had. I've managed to save Van more than once by intervening but what can I do about this? I can't tell him not to fight. He's already given his word he will. I can't tell him about my vision, that would just worry him and possibly cause him to make a fatal mistake sooner. What can I do? I don't know. I just don't know.' She stared in the direction of the fighters without actually seeing the match transpire.
Slowly the contestants circled each other, lashing out and clashing swords every so often, testing each other's strength and speed. Finally, Erwin made a serious attack, thrusting his sword at the lapel of his opponent. Stephen deflected the attack to the side then countered with an upward sweeping motion that Erwin first sidestepped then spun around and brought his sword to bear at Stephen once again. The younger knight blocked the attack and countered with a thrust of his own which the older knight deflected while retreating to a safer distance. At this point the tide of the match began to shift. Where Erwin started out as the aggressor, now Stephen was pressing the contest.
"What just happened? How come Erwin isn't attacking anymore?" Merle asked.
"After that last exchange, he realized that Stephen is faster with the sword than he is. He almost lost to Stephen's counterattacks twice already and now he's on the defensive." Van explained.
"But he has to attack eventually if he hopes to win." Merle offered.
Van nodded, then continued. "He will try and wear down Stephen by extending the match, in hopes that the younger fighter will tire and eventually make a mistake; drop his guard or miss his mark."
"Kind of like in his first match?"
"Yes, exactly." Looking over at Hitomi who appeared to be watching the match intently, Van asked. "What to you think of the match so far?"
She just nodded.
A mild look of confusion crossed the young king's face as he looked from Hitomi over to Merle who just shrugged and went back to watching the match. He knew something was troubling her but he reasoned that if it were truly important she would have told him already. He decided to make a point to ask her about it later, perhaps after his own match with Allen.
As the match pressed on with the younger knight attacking and the older knight blocking and counterattacking, it was becoming apparent that the younger knight was beginning to tire. His attacks were no longer crisp and clean. While earlier in the match his attacks were mostly thrusts at his opponent's lapel, now most of his attacks were slashes that allowed him to use his whole body to bring his sword around. But even as Stephen's attacks changed, he was still faster than Erwin and it was only the older knight's experience that kept him in the match.
As the two combatants circled around each other, sweat dripping from their brow, Stephen knew if he were going to have a chance at winning he would need to end it soon. As the muscles in his arm and back began to burn from the strain of wielding his sword for more then twenty minutes, the young knight charged with a flurry of attacking strokes as he drove his competitor further and further back. And right when he thought he had the older, taller knight totally on the defensive, Erwin brought his sword around and over, forcing his opponents weapon from his hand. Without hesitation, he swiped at the younger knights lapel, severing the flower at the stem before Stephen's sword hit the ground. The arena was in stunned silence for just a moment. It appeared to everyone that the victory would go to the younger warrior but this day, experience prevailed. Eventually, the huge facility erupted in applause and cheers as the modest victor walked over to his opponent who had collapsed to his knees. Stephen was in as much shook as the audience had been. Only once had he ever been disarmed in that manner and that was by his mentor. To have it happen here in the tournament championship was too much of a shock for him to bear. He was brought back to reality by the presence of a hand extended in friendship. Looking up he saw Erwin looking down at him. Not with a smug look of victory but with one of genuine respect and admiration. The young Stephen took his hand and rose to his feet.
"You're an amazing fighter Stephen. I'm only glad we both serve the same Queen. I would hate to ever have to face you in battle." The older knight stated.
"I only hope to someday approach your prowess with the sword Erwin. Congratulations, truly this day the better man did win." The younger knight acknowledged.
The official walked over and checked Stephen's lapel for any marks of which there were none then he raised Erwin's hand signaling him the official winner of the tournament. The cheers grew even louder and both Stephen and the official bowed respectfully to the champion. Only now with the coaxing from his competitor did Erwin raise his sword over his head as a sign of victory as he acknowledged all those in the arena.
After retrieving his sword, Stephen and the official exited the battlefield. As they did, royal servants began rolling out a four foot wide crimson carpet from the entrance to the field to the middle of the field. One of the Queen's aids gestured for Erwin to take his place at the end of the carpet where he kneeled down and placed his sword on the ground in front of him.
A moment later trumpets sounded and the Queen and her court entered the field. Everyone in the stands rose to their feet in respect of Asturia's monarch, everyone except Hitomi who was still lost in her thoughts. Van looked over, noticing she had not risen, gently took her arm, which caused her to gasp with a start. "Queen Millerna is presenting the champion with his prize." He whispered to her.
Looking around quickly, she noticed everyone was standing and rose to her feet as well. After a moment she noticed Van staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She looked over at him with an innocent expression on her face.
Not dissuade by her placid expression. He now knew something was troubling her but as he was about to ask her one of the royal vassals approached him from behind.
"Your Majesty, I am to escort you to the preparation chambers for your match with Sir Allen." The vassal bowed respectfully.
"Of course." He turned to his companions. "Charson, look after these two lovely ladies for me."
"Of course Your Majesty." Sir Charson bowed.
"Ladies." He nodded his head in Merle's direction first.
"Lord Van." She bowed, holding her hands just below her mouth, one hand clasped over the other as she smiled ear to ear. "Good luck Lord Van. I know you're going to win."
He then nodded his head toward Hitomi, so simply smiled back. A troubled look crossed his brow but for a moment, but long enough for Hitomi to notice and know what she had fear doing had already happened. 'He suspects, he's seen me enter a trance to many times. He knows I've seen something, something that was seriously troubling me. Now he's going to be worried about my vision rather than concentrating on the match. What am I going to do?'
So caught up in her thoughts she didn't even notice that Van had turned and left already. It wasn't until Merle walked up to her and pulled on her sleeve. "Mmm?" She stared wide-eyed as the catgirl.
"Did you hear Lord Van? He called me a lovely lady." She smiled, giggling like a little girl.
The older teen smiled. "Yes Merle, I heard him." She looked out onto the field in time to see Millerna place a medal around his neck. "And you know what? He was right." She turned back to her friend and smiled.
This caused Merle's smile to double in size.
As the queen, her escorts and Erwin Heatherton made their way off the battlefield another royal vassal entered and approached Sir Charson. "Her Majesty, the Queen has requested the pleasure of your company during the match between His Majesty, King Van and Sir Allen Schezar." He said, addressing all three representatives of Fanelia. "Would you come this way?" He gestured.
"It would be our honor." The minister nodded to the vassal. "Ladies, shall we?"
"Of course." Hitomi smiled as she stared walking in the direction gestured by the servant before being cut off by Merle who ran out ahead.
"Come on, we don't want to miss seeing Lord Van fight." The catgirl yelled.
Hitomi looked with concern to the servant.
"There is no need for concern. It will be some time before the match begins." He assured her. Suddenly loud laughter could be heard from within the arena. "Circus performers are currently entertaining the crowds." He explained as they walked toward the royal seating area.
Once there, the vassal drew the purple curtain aside and announced their arrival. The queen and her sister, along with the other members of the royal family all stood.
"Sir Charson, Hitomi, Merle, please come sit." Millerna gestured to the seats to her left. "Hitomi, please, sit here." Gesturing to the seat closest to her.
"Thank you Your Highness." The teen bowed and took her seat.
"Hitomi? What's wrong? You look troubled." The queen asked without hesitation.
'Man, she doesn't miss a thing.' The teen forced a smile and lied. "It's nothing really. I'm just a little concerned about this match is all."
"I see. Well, assuming you took care of things like you said you would," The queen winked at her. "I'm sure Lord Van will represent himself and his kingdom well." He smiled.
"And what if he doesn't? I mean, what if he loses?" The teen added.
"Well, as long as he doesn't lose in the first minute of the match I'm sure no real harm will come of it. Other than Van's brused pride. To be honest, no one other than Van expects him to win."
Merle, who had been listening to the conversation, humphed and turned her head away while sticking her nose up in the air.
"I stand corrected." Millerna grinned. "But in all seriousness, Allen is regarded as the finest swordsman in all of Gaea and he is six years Van's senior, but I'm sure Lord Van will give a respectable showing of himself."
Hitomi smiled weakly. 'If you only knew, you would call off the match right now.' Her eyes grow wide with that thought. 'Maybe if I tell Millerna, she'll call of the match, then… no that's no good. Van would insist on knowing why. And then he'd insist on going on with it anyway. He can be so stubborn sometimes.' Just then Hitomi caught sight of Princess Eries placing a small mirror back in her clutch purse and after the mirror she placed a handkerchief. And idea popped into Hitomi's head. "Princess Eries?"
The queen's older sister looked over at her. "May I borrow your handkerchief for the evening?" She asked.
The older woman gave a surprised expression but reached down and pulled out the item and extended it to Hitomi. "Of course, but what do you need it for?" She asked.
"Something very important." She stood up and took the item. "Your Majesty, where might I find Lord Van? There is something of the utmost importance I must tell him."
Confusion crossed the queen's face. "Can't it wait till after the match? He's preparing himself as we speak."
"No Your Majesty. It most certainly cannot wait till after the match. I must speak with him before the match." She insisted.
Still unsure but willing to trust her friend, Millerna gestured to one of her servants. "Take Lady Hitomi down to where Lord Van is preparing himself for his match."
"Yes Your Highness." He bowed, "This way Lady Hitomi." He said leading the way.
"What was that about?" Merle asked.
The queen just shrugged and looked back over to her sister who did the same thing.
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AN: Sorry, sorry, sorry… for so many things. Sorry for taking so long to update this story. Things got more hectic than I anticipated. Sorry, for the cliffhanger, both in the last chapter and this one. To be honest, I didn't think the last chapter was a cliffhanger, but I suppose it was. Sorry, it wasn't trying to be evil, really. Now this one I know is, but I've already made this chapter much longer than I planned so I feel I must end it here. All will be resolved in the next chapter… or two. ^_^ Sorry.
Well, since no one could come up with a suggestion as to how Hitomi could save Van from certain humiliation, I'm going with my original idea. I hope you like it. ^_^
Again, thanks sooooooooo much for all your supportive comments. And believe me, I love every single one of them. Well, okay maybe all but one of them that that one came a long time ago.
If you get tired of waiting for me to update this story and are a fan of Dual, Eva, or Outlaw Star, you may try taking a look at one of my other stories. Oh, I also have a Daria story posted here. Well, two actually, but one is unfinished and probably never will be. I really should take it off. Anyway, I'd like to know what you think of my other works as well. ^_^ For those of you over the age of 17 a more mature version of my OLS story, The Rise before the Fall is on my website, www.noscams.org.
Again, thank you all and have a great day. ^_______^
A. Amishi
PS: Just 10 days till ACEN'03!!! ^__^