Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Always With You ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

“So what do you want me to help you with?” Dilandau asked as he listened to Ray follow him down the corridors.

“Well I am going to have to learn how to pilot a Guymelf, and I still want to learn to fight.”

“Well the way to learn to fight is do it. So me and you are going to train, and until I say we can quit, we won’t.”

“Well aren’t you a nice teacher.” Ray smirked. She suddenly found herself pinned against the wall.

“I will not lose another one, especially if I am given the chance to save them.” Dilandau snapped thinking about Sierra.

Ray was shocked at the intensity in Dilandau’s eyes, although she was slightly confused as to what he was talking about, then it hit her, the girl Dragon Slayers.

Dilandau pushed away from her, leaving her there, until she came back to reality and followed him once again.

They entered Dilandau’s room, and he led her to one of the side doors to his own training room. Ray saw her sword hanging on the wall. She quickly went for it, unsure if Dilandau would wait for her to be ready or try to catch her off guard.

“Hm…” Dilandau grunted as Ray pulled her blade, only he was facing away from her.

Ray realized that Dilandau was standing slightly different, he didn’t look like the same powerful, fearless warlord she had gotten used to.

“Dilandau?” She asked quietly. He turned slowly to face her, and then became the Dilandau that Ray had known and grown to really, really like.

“Are you ready?” Dilandau asked, his eyes blank.

”Dilandau, I don’t think that the enemy is going to ask if I am ready before they attack.” Ray said cautiously.

Dilandau just stared at her, blank and somewhat cold. Ray became slightly nervous.

“Dilandau?” She asked quietly, but after getting no response she rushed at him her sword, aimed near him, but not at him, hoping to get him out of this unusual mood.

Dilandau quickly snapped out of it and ducked under Rayana’s blade, she quickly spun around aiming for his neck, which Dilandau blocked easily. He was quickly coming back to reality and he was extremely thankful to Rayana for saving him for the souls that had once again invaded his mind without warning.

Ray tried to hit him in his ribs with her fist but he quickly grabbed her fist and spun her around locking her arm behind her. But Ray quickly rammed her hilt into Dilandau’s ribs. He let go, even though if it had been a real fight he would have already slit their throat.

Ray once again swung at Dilandau’s throat, he simply ducked and tried to tackle her around the waist, but she moved aside and hit him in the spine with her hilt. Dilandau refused to fall and spun around to block another of her blows.

He smiled as she tried to force him to his knees, Dilandau released one of his hands from his blade and quickly wrapped his arm around Ray’s legs, right behind her knees, bringing her down onto her back. Dilandau quickly pinned her down resting his blade beside her head, as she let hers fall at her side.

Ray looked up at Dilandau’s warm smile; she realized how different it was from when she first met him. She felt the warmth of his body as he moved closer to her.

Dilandau slowly moved closer to Ray, hoping that she didn’t try to kill him once his lips touched hers…too late. Ray had suddenly moved upward catching Dilandau slightly off guard, especially as one of her hands crept up his back.

Dilandau ran one of his hands down her arms feeling her get chills in his wake.

Ray lay there, beneath Dilandau, wishing that this was actually happening because Dilandau cared for her, but she knew it was fake.

She suddenly pushed Dilandau back, with a little bit of difficulty because he didn’t want to leave her lips.

Dilandau eventually did back off, even if it was just a few inches. He gave her a questioning look.

“Please don’t toy with me.” Ray answered him.

“I’m not. I really mean this.” Dilandau replied instantly, startling Ray as well as himself.

“What?” Ray asked.

“This.” Dilandau suddenly captured her lips in another, shorter kiss.

“And what does that mean to you?” Ray asked cautiously.

“I want you Ray. I need you.” Dilandau whispered, completely startled at his own daringness so he decided to leave it there.

But Ray had other plans, obviously. “And?” She whispered back knowing that there was more then that, and she wanted to know it all.

Dilandau moved closed to her so that he could whisper in her ear. “Ray…” He began, then stopped, but he saw the pleading look on her face, the hope in her eyes. “I love you.”

Suddenly without warning Ray rolled over so that she was pinning Dilandau. “You mean that?” She asked, her eyes searching him for any sign that he was toying with her.

Dilandau saw how scared she was, how she thought that he was playing, but he also saw the hope that this might actually be real. “Yes.”

“Since when?” Ray asked quickly.

“Since the first time I saw you, I just wasn’t sure how to tell you, or if it was real, but now I know.”

“Are you playing with me again.”

“I never was. I do love you.” Dilandau tried to make her believe, he tried to make himself believe that she could love him in return, but he needed to hear it from her own lips. “I understand if you don’t love me in return.”

Ray was speechless, she wanted to slap him and ask if he was stupid, of course she loved him. But she was lost, she didn’t know what to do, except for one idea. She leaned over and kissed Dilandau.

Dilandau loved the smoothness of her lips, but it still wasn’t enough, he had to hear it from her, but in the end he decided that he would not press the subject, not today.

He rolled over, and got onto his knees, then reached down and pulled Ray into his arms so that he could carry her. He hadn’t realized how fast the time had past, but Ray seemed to have a strange effect on time. He then carried her to his bed and lay her down.

Ray grabbed him and pulled her down to her for one last kiss before they went to sleep, she thought that time was slipping away too fast to waste with words.

Dilandau lay down beside her and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes.

Dilandau lay there for awhile longer, not believing that this was happening, that he was actually holding this angel in his arms. He was suddenly thankful that she had come to him from the heavens.

~*~

Ray woke up smiling as she felt Dilandau’s arms wrapped around her. She quickly moved as close to him as she possibly could. As she did so she felt Dilandau’s arms pull her closer to him. She could only smile more as he did so.

I was wondering when you would wake up.” Dilandau whispered resting his chin on top of her head.

“Well you could have woke me up.” Ray replied.

“You were just too beautiful to disturb.” Dilandau countered.

“What happened to my old Dilandau?” Ray asked as she moved so she could look at him.

“What do you mean?” Dilandau asked slightly alarmed.

“Well before I only got a few compliments and I had to work for them.” Ray tilted her head.

“Fine then, you can work for everything you get.” Dilandau smiled.

“Ok.” Ray smiled and moved to kiss him but was surprised when he moved away. “Dilandau?” Ray asked slightly worried she had done something wrong.

“You want to have to work for it.” Dilandau smiled.

Ray grinned and suddenly attacked Dilandau, pinning him to the bed with her knees on his arms as she put both of her hands on the sides of his face and kissed him. “There you go you jerk, I don’t want to have to work for every kiss though.” She smiled.

“Oh know you said you wanted to have to work for everything.” Dilandau said as he moved her off of his chest.

“You’re mean.” Ray growled.

“Nah, I’m just in love.” Dilandau whispered as he rested his forehead against Ray’s.

“So Korin is going to be with us when we fight?” Ray asked causing Dilandau to withdraw very quickly.

“Yes.” He spat as he turned away from her.

“Hey! Dilly-boy, what’s wrong?” Ray asked as she tried to pull him back to her.

“Did you mean what you said about Korin?” Dilandau asked harshly, as he allowed her to turn him.

“What?” Ray thought about it, anything that she may have said, then she remembered. “Oh, no Dilandau! You just made me mad and I didn’t have anything mean to say to you so I made something up.”

“Are you sure?” Dilandau asked suspiciously.

“Yes, I promise.”

“Then what did he do?”

“Nothing.”

“Ray please don’t lie to me, I know that he did something.” Dilandau watched her.

“He just caught me at a weak moment, I promise that it won’t happen again.” Ray tried to avoid the subject, thinking that Dilandau would no less then kill the man.

“Please tell me.”

“Oh fine he kissed me. And I am sure that he was going to do something else…” Ray looked away.

Dilandau quickly caught Ray’s chin with his finger, forcing he to look at him. “I’m sorry, for what I did. I just had to have you. And I promise I won’t let anything else happen to you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me.” Ray snapped pulling away from him.

“I know you don’t need me to.” Dilandau snapped right back, but then his voice softened for the next few words, “I just want to.”

Ray looked back up at him, then smiled. “What are we doing today?” She asked as she cuddled up to him again.

“Well I was think that we could just stay here.” Dilandau smiled.

“Oh come one let’s do something interesting.” Ray whined.

“Ok, how about you learn to pilot?” Dilandau suggested.

“Cool.”

“So when’s your birthday?” Dilandau asked suddenly.

“Really soon.” Ray grinned then suddenly bit Dilandau’s neck gently.

“Like how soon.”

“Just soon, I’ll tell you later, now come on and get up.” Ray smiled as she crawled over him and stood up on the floor.

Dilandau could only smiled and stand up as well, knowing that this would be a very interesting day.

~*~

Ray trotted through the hallways, stopping whenever the corridors forked to wait for Dilandau to catch up and show her where to go.

“Dilandau!” She whined. “Hurry up, I have a feeling that piloting is going to be hard and going to take up the whole day.” She grinned over her shoulder.

“Yeah but I am sure that you’ll get the hang of it quickly.” He then took a few quick strides and captured her in his arms and quickly took a kiss before she could protest, only to find a sharp pain in his foot. He released Ray allowing her to leap away grinning. He could only smile back knowing that she had not her spirit and violent nature towards him.

“So where to Dilly-boy?” Ray asked eyeing him with an exaggerated look of suspicion.

“Left.” He pushed against the wall as he past her.

Ray caught up with him and smacked him upside the head as she past before she took off at full speed. She heard Dilandau yell something about disrespect and her being a demon woman before he screamed louder right. Just as he has said it she found herself at another intersection, she took the right as he had told her to. She could hear his footsteps as he ran after her occasionally yelling directions for her to follow. Suddenly the hallway opened up to a vast three-sided room. Ray had to stop as the sunlight from the absent wall directly in front of her temporarily blinded her.

She then felt Dilandau’s breath on her neck causing her to shiver.

“Out here, you are just another soldier to me.” He looked at her with an intensity that she could only nod to him to tell him that she had understood. But that was all that she could muster as she was still sun dazed, shocked as to what he had said and amazed at the size of the guymelfs.

“Are you embarrassed by me Dilandau?” She hissed back.

“No Princess.” He replied his eyes wide with shock.

“Just joking there Dilly-boy.” She whispers.

Dilandau just stared at her for a moment, then a smirk spread over his features. He moved to grab her but she quickly evaded him and walked further into the room.

“Not in public Dilandau.” She smirked at him over her shoulder. “So which one is mine?” She asked. Looking around at the melfs.

Dilandau smirked, he had been planning on letting her use his but he had been informed that Folken had had one built for her. As he passed her he made sure his arm gently brushed against hers as he led the way to a pure white guymelf.

“This one if yours, and I guess you can call it whatever you want, within reason.” Dilandau said as he gestured towards the melf.

“Cool. So what the hell should I call it?” She asked as she stepped closer to it.

“Don’t ask me.” Dilandau smirked.

“How about…Angel.” She smiled and glanced at Dilandau. “So, you like it or no?”

“Hey it doesn’t matter to me, I don’t even know what the hell an angel is.”

“Casual swearing is bad for you.” Ray said absently before what he had said was really got through to her. As soon as it did she spun around to face him. “What the fuck you mean you don’t know what the hell a fucking angel is?”

“Casual swearing is bad for you.” Dilandau smiled. “So what the hell is an angel?”

“And angel is a person with great big white bird like wings.” Ray smiled, but her smile fell as she saw Dilandau’s expression.

“And angels are bad?” He growled.

“No their good.” Ray gave him a strange look.

“What you described is not an angel, that’s a draconian, and if I could I’d kill them all.” He growled then walked past her as he climbed up the Guymelf.

“You mean angels are here on Gaea?” She asked excitedly.

“Yes but they are rare.”

“But you’ve seen one?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Why.”

“Because Van simply won’t die.”

“Oh my god that is so cool, can I meet this Van?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I burned down his kingdom awhile ago and we’ve never been friends.”

“Oh.”

“But are you going to learn how to work this thing or not?” He growled.

“Yeah sure.”

Dilandau climbed in first knowing that there was enough room for the both of them. Ray got in and Dilandau explained everything to her as she got used to controlling the giants movements.

“Why do you like angels?” He asked suddenly halfway though a sentence hoping he’d get the answer he was hoping for.

“They can fly.” She replied absently as she moulded a sword out of liquid metal.

“Good, then let’s fly.”

“What?” She asked glancing back at him so suddenly the metal sword dug a deep rut in the floor. “Oh shit.” She gasped.

“Never mind that, run off the edge and I’ll show you what to do.” He said quickly.

“You’re lucky I like you Dilandau.” She smiled.

“You’re lucky I love you.” He smiled back ‘Cause any other soldier won’t get away with damaging the ship, and definitely wouldn’t get to fly first time in here.’ He finished his thought just as he and Ray were thrown over the edge and plunged down to the ground.

Dilandau and Ray walked leisurely down the corridors of the Vione. After Dilandau had established the basics, they had returned to the floating fortress so that Dilandau could get his own guymelf.

They had then landed in a clearing and he had instructed her in battle, which she picked up quickly as it was almost like fighting hand to hand, only movements were slower, and impacts hurt more. Dilandau had found it hard to hit her at all, not that he didn’t try, it was just that her reactions were so quick that while he was going for the hit, her melf would be blocking and she herself would be fighting back, thus she was at least two steps ahead of not only her General but her own weapon.

He was very pleased with her progress as they laughed as they remembered some of the things that had happened after their training session in the clearing.

(A/N I think we can all think of this that will suit our minds but NO SEXUAL ACTIVITY, just to be mean and just because I can, *insert evil laugh here*)

Dilandau snacked his arm around Ray’s waist and managed to kiss her shoulder before Chesta came running around the corner.

“Lord Dilandau!” He called as he rushed towards them, not really hearing Dilandau’s growls of invading people’s privacy.

“Dilandau a hallway is not private domain.” Ray smiled, then nodded at Chesta to go on.

“Lord Dilandau, Lord Folken wishes to see you right away.” Chesta said in a rush, prompting the need for immediate action.

“Well then, Chesta please escort Ray back to my room.” Dilandau said.

“Dilandau I don’t need a babysitter.” Ray said in mock offence.

“I know but I want nothing to happen to you.” Dilandau smiled as he kissed her cheek, then turned to Chesta, “If anything does happen to her, even in the slightest magnitude you’ll wish you were never born.” Dilandau threatened.

Chesta smiled, but then quickly made his face blank and bowed to his lord. He and Ray then walked down the hallway. Dilandau watched and listened as Ray instantly struck up a conversation about how he himself was overprotective and how she suspected that he had mental problems.

Dilandau smiled then went directly to Folken’s office.

He entered and went to sit at the centre table as Folken stood gazing out the window.

“Well, what did you want Folken?”

“Due to wind speed and gravity, as we are descending down a vast mountain ranges side, we’re going to make it to the border tomorrow.”

Dilandau was speechless he knew what was happening.

“The attack will commence at noon.” Folken finished looking over at the younger man from across the room.

“Ray isn’t going then.” Dilandau stated coldly.

“I am sorry Dilandau but she has to, to prove her loyalty.”

“Then she isn’t going to be loyal because she isn’t going.”

“It is out of our hands Dilandau.”

“No! She can’t, she doesn’t have the training, the experience!” Dilandau stood up slamming his hands on the table in front of him.

“I saw today that she is more then ready Dilandau, you know that, I know that you do even though you aren’t going to admit it. Dilandau she will…”

“You are killing her! Sentencing her to death!” Dilandau yelled.

“She will have you there to protect her Dilandau, you and I cannot change this. The only thing that we can do is hope. I don’t like this any more then you do but she is strong and you know it. There is nothing we can do except help her out there. I promise you that I will watch the entire thing and if worse comes to worse I will fly down there and take her away from it all.” Folken tried to reassure the younger man.

But Dilandau would have none of it; he threw a look of pure venom at Folken then stormed from the room. Dilandau slammed the large, heavy doors so hard that one of their top hinges broke free and the door fell. Seconds later the bottom hinge bent and gave way causing the door to crash to the floor throwing dust into the air.