I don't own escaflowne, its characters, whatever.
It was a beautiful wedding.
White lilies all around, men with instruments setting mood for the occasion with romantic song; doves kept in golden cages growing ever impatient for their imminent release at the announcement of the new couple, held by ten lovely maidens to accompany the splendor of her dress as bridesmaids.
Before them all Hitomi waited, silent and patient, for the man before her to award her first kiss.
Slowly he leaned toward her, as if to incur her longing, and carefully lifted her veil. Hitomi could feel her cheeks flush at merely the thought of his lips upon hers. She breathed deep as she felt the graze of his lips, and, when at last he took her mouth completely to his own, her knees began to buckle.
Anxious with curiosity, she opened her eyes to peer into the eyes of her husband; she imagined him a man with kind eyes.
She found not at all what she expected-
Instead she found a devil.
"No!"
Hitomi's arms shot into the air, as if to fight something, or someone away. As she thrashed and turned, it soon became apparent she was not where she'd imagined she was. There were no lilies, no instruments, no doves, nor were there any maidens. When Hitomi opened her eyes, all she found were her wrists bound to two posts by thick scarves, her body lain down upon flimsy cushions and her surroundings a dark room with a tiny window carved in a high wall where little light shone through.
In a strange way the gloom in which she found herself shed light on her current whereabouts; at once she recalled her journey for marriage, the accident… She winced at the pain of her mother's death. She remembered her struggle, and the man who had abducted her amidst the swirling sand. It was only common sense, then, that she must be in his secret layer.
"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Help, please!"
Her cries returned to her unanswered.
Hitomi struggled against her bonds, but to no avail. The constant pulling, turning and twisting was beginning to chafe her skin, but in her current predicament, she could care less. Hitomi's sole focus was a way to escape. Noting that her legs and ankles were free, Hitomi at once began to stand up, only to stumble backward and fall back to her previous position. Whatever the man had done to make her pass out still held some effect, and Hitomi found herself feeling dizzy. Her vision was suddenly somewhat blurred, and it was all she could do to keep her head from striking one of the posts to which she was tied.
It was Hitomi's belief that he'd slipped her something, perhaps with plans to violate her. Hitomi's green eyes widened with panic-perhaps he'd already done it… Quickly she checked to make certain her dress was not torn, especially in the places that counted. There were no serious tears; still the dress was tattered…
Her eyes began to water at the thought- she had traveled so far, waited all these years of her life, only to lose her mother in death, and be taken by some murderous barbarian, against her will and unconscious. And perhaps, when he had finished taking what he wanted, he would kill her, just as he killed her mother.
The moisture in her eyes soon formed tears, and Hitomi's grief was fully wrought. What terrible misfortune had befallen her in so short a time! She could think of not a single thing to explain the consequences of the day- had she not always been a good girl, a good person? She lived a clean life, showed mercy and gave freely to the poor, obeyed her parents, and walked with chastity as a close companion. All mandates of Escuraflrane she followed, that there might be no repercussions upon her or her family. Yet within two months time she had lost both her parents, and now she was all that was left to be beaten, tortured and broken.
Hitomi's sobs grew heavier, and she could feel a headache beginning at the back of her head, but she didn't care. The pain would be a welcome distraction from her current heartache, so she cried louder; so loud, in fact, that she failed to hear the light footsteps of an approaching person.
As Hitomi resigned to bury herself in her arms, curling into a ball, a small door opened quietly from above, and the head of a petite catgirl with bright pink hair surveyed the room below. Easily she dropped from her perch, landing in the room below without a fall. Her ears twitched, and, her curiosity getting the best of her, approached Hitomi with wonder.
Hitomi's back was turned, and merle sniffed her long hair. She paused a moment, thinking of what to say, and raised her hand to poke Hitomi's trembling form,
"Hey, are you okay?"
The touch and sound of another's voice raised Hitomi's awareness, and immediately her head shot up to see about her caller. She gasped a little when she saw before her a catgirl, one of the same kind who had released that terrible yell she heard just before the accident. Hitomi's stared into the girl's blue eyes with fear and wonder; was she the one who'd tied her up?
"Why are you crying? Hello? Can you hear me?"
The catgirls voice was growing shrill and obnoxious in Hitomi's ears with each word she carelessly spoke in her ear. What was worse was that she shook her as if she were unconscious, despite her obvious alertness. What would Isaac say if he could witness the scene? It was against the teachings for Hybrids to come into contact with humans.
"Don't touch me!" Hitomi cried out in panic, and swung around so violently that she nearly knocked the catgirl off her feet. She did not mean to be so angered, but she'd had enough curses for one day. The last thing she needed was to be looked down upon because of an assumed association with a mongrel.
The catgirl was taken aback by Hitomi's attitude- she was only trying to be hospitable, and here she was being treated like vermin!
"What's your problem, I was only trying to help!"
"Help? You're not helping me- you're one of the reasons I'm in this mess!" Hitomi shot back.
"Mess?" the catgirl cried back, "What mess?!"
"You've tied me up here like an animal, left me in this dark hole for torture! You killed my mother!"
The catgirl's eyes widened in disbelief; she didn't recall doing any of those things. "I don't know what you're talking about, but you've got an attitude! I came down here to see why you were crying, and suddenly I'm a criminal and a murderer! You've got some nerve- I'm gonna tell Lord Van about this when he comes back! In fact-"
Her threats were interrupted as a small ladder touched the floor through the hole she'd previously entered through, and a man not much older than Hitomi herself descended down its steps. The man had presence and walked with all authority that, as Hitomi watched his descent and the catgirl's awed reaction to his appearing, she supposed he was the catgirl's master, and perhaps the leader of the bandits who had brought her to this place.
"Merle, what are you doing down here?"
His voice was deep and commanding, yet soft and gentle as if he spoke to a loved one. Immediately the catgirl ran towards him, stopping just before him to grab his hand in protest, "I heard crying and went to see about it, and then this girl- she just started attacking me!" Merle looked back at Hitomi through slit eyes, and licked her tongue at her tauntingly.
The man glanced at Hitomi for but a moment, and returned his attention to Merle,
"Leave now."
As he uttered his command, her eyes turned to fishbowls, "But, Lord Van…"
It took but one stern look for her to cease her pleas, and quickly Merle jumped to the ceiling and closed the door behind her, leaving Van and Hitomi behind in complete darkness.
Hitomi trembled as she heard him taking steps- was he coming toward her?
She pivoted her head and twisted her body as best she could to get some sense of him, afraid he might try to grab her. She was no fool- her mother had told her countless cautionary tales of those who dwelled in the badlands, bloodthirsty and unbridled men who jumped at every chance to capture a woman…
Van did no such thing, but lit a candle and two others instead, adding a bit more light to the room. With the new view, Hitomi turned to see her captor- a handsome man with unruly raven black hair reaching his shoulders, and deep brown eyes, almost amber, embedded in a beautifully contoured face with skin colored a rich golden tan. Her breath stayed with her a little at the sight of him- could he be the one who so cruelly confined and held her against her will? She had so many words for him, so many angry, spiteful words, but she dared not speak them. They stayed in her heart, while she continued to take in the sight of him.
Van seemed to examine Hitomi also. His eyes quickly scanned over her form; her fine dress was stained brown from the sand, and perhaps his blood. The fine and delicate folds of red, white and gold embroidered silk that made up her dress were torn and tattered, but her beauty shone through with her deep green eyes and golden brown hair that cascaded down her back and over her chest in massive spirals, whatever style for which they were previously intended collapsed and ruined.
It was a strange moment, but didn't last long as Hitomi remembered herself and found the courage to speak up,
"I won't let you lay a single hair of your head on me!" She spoke through clenched teeth with a quiet and seething anger that did nothing to faze the man before her. He only stood there with his arms crossed, silently staring at her.
"I have no money on my person- I have nothing to give you. And what you seek to take I will not give up without a fight!"
Van smirked, "That I know already." He lifted his bandaged arm for display, the very same arm Hitomi relentlessly stabbed during their struggle. Hitomi glared at his easy tone; it disgusted her to know that the murder of her mother and one other rolled so easily off his shoulders.
"You disgusting-"
"Bastard? Savage? I've heard them all before, don't bother."
His smirk disappeared and his face turned serious as he made his way closer to her. Again there was silence between them, and his hard stare struck worry into Hitomi's heart. Quiet and with a small, pleading voice, Hitomi voiced a request of him,
"Please untie me."
Van was silent.
Her worry steadily grew to fear as she imagined he might harm her at any moment. She knew she would not be able to fight him, but if she played the docile woman, he might loosen them enough for her to perhaps scratch his eyes out. Again, only softer this time, she requested him,
"Please untie me."
"No."
Hitomi's gentle face soon fell to rage and she threatened him with all power in her voice, "When I get free-"
"You're not getting free. You've stepped on sacred land- the law forbids you ever leave this place again."
Panic set into her eyes and her heart began to beat wildly against her chest. What was he talking about? At worst she thought he might do what he wanted with her, and perhaps release her for ransom. But now he spoke of sacred land and law. What law could there be in a barren desert littered with Hybrids and murderous thieves like himself?
He gave her no chance to ask, as he turned to walk away, uttering the last words she would hear that night, or would ever want to hear from a kidnapper and murderer,
"From now on, you belong to me."
A/N: Oh wow, so it's been a while. Looks like I got some reviews. Thanks everyone who did, you guys encouraged me to keep writing. It's like the more reviews I get, the sooner I'm motivated to update. It even looks like I have a reviewer from one of my previous stories-(FF12, anyone?). What's up, terracannon? Let's see if I can actually finish this one. Anyways, please leave reviews for this chapter. I'm trying to keep this from turning into the usual sappy and cliché romance fic- although there will have to be some sappy and cliché moments. As for the reviewer who was reminded of Crouching tiger Hidden dragon when reading the first chapter…. I don't know what you're talking about. (wink wink)