Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne and its characters
Author: licoricefactory
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and I'm glad that you guys like the pairing! I know that this chapter is a bit boring and short but I just really wanted to get an update out. I wasn't able to update last week since we had our periodical tests in school and I had to study for them. I promise that the next chapter will be longer.
Pairing: Dilandau/Hitomi
Japanese word
Amaterasu: the Japanese sun goddess
Chapter 2
Landing in the massive hangar of the Vione, the guymelef units created a loud thud clearly announcing their arrival back to the floating fortress. The mechanics working on the idle guymelef units stationed in the hangar showed a mixture of confusion and curiosity on their faces as they saw the captives being lowered to the ground from the crima claws that were previously wrapped around their bodies.
"What the hell is this place?" A peasant boy from Kanza silently whispered to his mother.
"How the hell should I know. Probably a god-forsaken rock judging by the looks of it." His elderly mother murmured back.
Subtle whispers and murmurs were heard all throughout the hangar as the cockpits of the Alseides and Oreides units opened up to reveal the Dragonslayers and the infamous Dilandau Albatou, the prince of the empire and commander of the elite military unit. He was overcome by annoyance as soon as his ears picked up the sounds of the whispers which weren't so subtle after all.
"Shut the hell up!" He bellowed.
Just a single order from the prince of Zaibach made the hair on the back of their necks stand up. The captives from Kanza, as well as the mechanics, immediately stopped making noises out of fear of the diabolical Adonis. They knew that they shouldn't mess with him if they wanted to live.
"Dragonslayers, fall in!"
Hearing the command, the Dragonslayers immediately formed a single line, stood straight and showed no emotions at all on their faces. Each and everyone of them were wearing the customized blue and black armors with swords attached to the side of their hips clearly showing their rank in the military. Their boots were all polished and their hair were always neat. Such display obviously manifested years of hardwork and training to acquire the much needed amount of discipline expected of a Dragonslayer.
Dilandau was eyeing each and everyone of them when he noticed that one of his slayers was missing.
"Care to tell me where Gatti is, Chesta?" There was a dangerous glint in his eyes as he inquired of Gatti's whereabouts.
"I-I don't know, Dilandau-Sama." Chesta couldn't bring himself to raise his voice higher than a whisper and meet the intense gaze of his commander.
A slap was heard throughout the hangar as Dilandau backhanded the blond dragonslayer on the cheek leaving behind a red mark on the boy's face.
"Next time, when I ask you a question, speak louder and look me in the eye!" Dilandau bellowed. "Is that understood, Chesta?"
"Hai, Dilandau-Sama."
Dilandau returned his attention to the other slayers waiting in line. "Take the prisoners to the dungeons and tell Gatti to report to the throne room once he gets back."
With that final command, Dilandau left the hangar in search of his father while silently contemplating what he would do with Gatti. One of the things that Dilandau hated the most was tardiness and the fact that one of his men--a Dragonslayer for god's sake--was late was just utterly unacceptable. Dilandau was going to make sure that the Gatti learns his lesson.
The scenery was quickly changing and the full implications of Zaibach's attack was just starting to sink in. Half of the Kingdom of Kanza was destroyed. Houses were burning, the carts from the marketplace were overturned and corpses of people were scattered on the crimson stained ground. Fortunately, the royal palace was not attacked. Hitomi just prayed to Amaterasu, the sun goddess of Kanza, that nothing bad had happened to their father.
Hitomi and Mamoru were starting to feel nauseated as the guymelef continued its flight back to Zaibach. The guymelef was flying way too fast and the crima claw's grip on their bodies was just too tight to bear. The siblings felt like vomiting due to the fact that they didn't have any experience with flying in guymelefs.
A black tooth-like structure can be seen from afar. As the guymelef approached, the said structure became bigger and Hitomi realized that it was probably the Vione, the famous floating fortress of Zaibach's royal family.
Time passed by too fast and the next thing they knew, the guymelef had already landed on the hangar. They were lowered onto the ground and released out of the crima claw's grip. Mamoru gazed in awe at all the guymelefs lined up in the hangar. There were a lot of blue ones but what really caught his eye was the red guymelef at the center of it all.
The cockpit opened and as Gatti jumped out of the guymelef, a very bizarre looking man entered the hangar.
The man had a beer belly and his face looked oily and gross. A nose ring was attached to his left nostril and his hairline was receding.
"What am I going to do with the captives?" Gatti glanced towards Hitomi and Mamoru.
"Lord Dilandau ordered to take all the captives down to the dungeons. He wants to meet you back in his throne room. I think you're dead, Gatti." The man brought his right hand up his neck and made a motion of slashing his neck with his index finger while his thick lips started to curl up into an ugly smirk.
"Shut the hell up and wipe that smirk off your face, Rio."
"Why are you being so defensive? You know how much Dilandau-Sama hates tardiness."
"Whatever, suck up. Just take them to the dungeons and I'll go meet him in his throne room."
Hitomi gasped as the man named Rio harshly tugged at her wrist and started binding her hands behind her back. A dirty piece of cloth was placed between her mouth. She noticed that the man did the same to Mamoru.
The walk towards the dungeons was really long and Hitomi had the chance to observe the numerous hallways of the floating fortress. All the rumors that she heard about the awful place were true. The wide corridors were dimly lit by blue-flames situated at the walls giving the Vione an eerie feeling. Everything was monochramatic making the floating fortress appear more mysterious and cold than it already is.
Rio led the siblings down numerous staircases taking them to the bottom part of the fortress. A metal door blocked the entrance to what Hitomi assumed was the dungeons. Rio punched in the codes and the door slid open allowing the captives entrance.
Everywhere the siblings looked was just horrible. The smell was too pungent to bear and the area was just suffocating. Men were lying on the ground, women were crying inside their cells and there were those who were being whipped by the soldiers guarding the prisoners.
Hitomi averted her eyes not wanting to see how much these prisoners were badly treated. They don't deserve this! They may be criminals but they're still human! She silently thought to herself.
Rio stopped in front of a cell. He took out the key and opened it. The man shoved Hitomi and Mamoru forward and immediately locked the door to the cell. The other occupants of the cell looked shock upon seeing who the additional prisoners were. An old woman taken as a prisoner of war silently whispered, "The princess and the prince."
A/N: Review!