Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Specters ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 9 )

~ See, I truly am back now. I decided I'd post this as soon as I could. I think everyone has waited long enough for me to start updating again. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: You know those really neat characters? The ones with complex personalities and great character development? Yeah, they're not mine :-P

Specters

Chapter 8

By: Penybright

Relena paced the torch-lit hallway restlessly, the hollow clack of her boots echoing eerily down the dim passageways. Heero's limp body had been carried into the room that hid behind the closed door to her right. They wouldn't let her inside. In fact, they had practically shut the door in her face. Not knowing what was going on inside worried her, and the fact that she had no idea if Heero would be okay was severely gnawing at her nerves and patience. The fact that such a large palace seemed practically empty only made matters worse. Relena was beginning to have serious doubts about this place. It didn't seem right…

"Excuse me."

Relena paused her nervous, contemplative pacing. Glancing up, she saw a fairly tall male approaching her. Her breath caught as his features were illuminated by firelight. He looked remarkably like Heero. True, the eyes were a different color, as was the hair, but… It was unmistakable. The facial features were almost identical, and the hair was spiky and unruly, just like…

"You must be the young lady who was traveling with the young man that is now under my care. My wife notified me of your arrival once she had the young man brought here. I believe she said his name was Heero?"

"Yes, Heero Yuy."

The man nodded.

"I am King Van Slanzar de Fanel, and the woman you met in the courtyard is my wife Hitomi. I'm sorry if she came across as rather… cool. Things just haven't been the same since---"

The king's words were cut off as the large wood door swung open. The healer's eyes instantly caught Relena's.

"He seems to be in less pain, for now"

"What's wrong with him? Is he going to be all right?" Relena pleaded.

"I can't say for certain. It's most unusual. I've honestly never encountered anything like it…" The healer admitted truthfully.

"May we see him now?" Van interjected, stepping around the open door that had blocked him from view.

"Oh, yes, of course Sire. I hadn't realized you were there, or I would have---"

"It's okay Jerold. I don't expect you to be able to know when I'm around without seeing me."

The healer Jerold, bowed, stepping out of the doorway to allow them entrance. Relena cautiously stepped over the threshold, not sure if she wanted to see what was inside.

*****

Jade eyes peered into the small sick room, watching her husband and the strange girl carefully. The young woman seemed rather distraught over her companion's well being. The young man himself didn't appear to be doing that well. She knew he'd recover, though. She'd already seen that. And once he was well again, she was going to find out where he'd gotten her pendant. Of course, that was only if her husband didn't find out first.
Brief hope flickered inside her before she pushed it away. She wasn't going to raise her hopes and then have them crushed. The chances that he was the one were nearly impossible. He did remind her of her husband in looks... But that was only looks. There would be only one true way to know if her son had truly returned to her after all these years. And maybe, just maybe things would be right again in Fanelia.
With a melancholy sigh and a wan smile, Queen Hitomi de Fanel slipped silently from the doorway. Soft footsteps echoed through the hallway as she made her way back to the royal chambers.

*****

Seeing Heero in the state he was currently in was unnerving. He was always so strong. Being ravaged by an unknown sickness, as he was now, didn't seem real, or just for that matter.

Relena quietly padded to Heero's bedside, gently reaching down to brush a lock of hair from his face. He looked peaceful now. His face was no longer twisted in pain, but his pallor was still chalky.

Satisfied that the girl Relena knew that her friend was safe, Van decided it was time to get some answers.

"Why are you here?"

The question startled Relena. She had forgotten that there was another person in the room with her besides Heero.

"We were told we could get help here."

"But who sent you here? Travelers rarely come to Fanelia anymore, and you two are certainly an odd pair to be traveling around these parts. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were from the Mystic Moon, but how and why?"

"Mystic Moon?"

"Perhaps you know it as Earth."

"How did you..?"

"I was there once. And my wife… she's from the Mystic Moon. She and I met during a war that threatened to destroy Gaea."

"The woman I met earlier?"

"Yes."

"So when she accused Heero of having her pendant…" Slowly the pieces were falling into place in Relena's mind. They were here, stuck on this odd planet, and it was the pendant that had brought them here. The pendant that had belonged to…

Her mind reeling, Relena sank to the floor. This was all too much, but there it was in front of her. This man before her was Heero's father, and the woman from the courtyard was his mother. But… how had Heero wound up on Earth, and why?

"I… I think I need to lie down," Relena murmured as the room tilted at an odd angle. The

last thing she heard before the welcoming darkness cradled her was a distant shout of

alarm.

~Hm… so Relena knows, but has Van figured it out? And how is Heero going to react if

and when he wakes up? Oh, and how does Hitomi intend to find out for sure…?