Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Between Worlds ❯ Chapter 4: Trials ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 4

Trials

"Bless the Fates in the Heavens above us! What is this, the fourth time that everyone falls asleep on me! And no one, still, has told me what's going on! And why is it that I'm always not here when all the interesting stuff happens!" a young, prissy, girlish and very annoyed voice shouted from somewhere in the distance.

Samuri came to at once at the obnoxious sound. Looking around she saw that she lay on rumpled sheets and that there was bright light surrounding her in the room that she'd seen before. She was still there. The strange place that her 'aunt' had called Gaea. She had thought, no, hoped, that it had all been just a dream. But she had known that it had not been a mere dream. She was hurting too much for it to be just a dream. True, it wasn't as bad as running miles and miles at her spawn of the devil of a coach's whims, but she felt drained even though she had a gut feeling that she'd been sleeping for more than a while.

The drained feeling was something akin to how a mother felt at the end of a school less summer day for her three children after carting them to their softball, soccer, and baseball games. Or that's how her mother had always put it.

"I mean, it's always so boring whenever I'm here, but I leave for five seconds and then a Mystic Moonling comes, prophecies get told, and Balin gets a girlfriend! I can't find adventure anywhere when I'm here, but it always drops into your laps when I'm gone!" The annoying voice kept going and Samuri groaned, crushing her pillow to her head, desperately trying to block out the racket. It was just like she'd never left home. Waking up to shouting and screaming about being late for school, art classes, and a sport occurred daily.

"Miss Sadie, please calm down," came a distressed young, but older voice. "I know that you're upset, but-"

"Hells, yes, I'm upset! Why not just throw in the naughty word and call it pissed!" shrieked the churlish voice back. The voices seemed to be getting louder as if they were getting closer. "And then Daddy's leaving for a dangerous mission again and I can't go! I don't understand this!"

"Miss Sadie, please. You shouldn't curse. Your mother and father are indisposed and-"

"Oh, right. They're indisposed so they can't see me, I know! But I don't want to see them, I want to see Balin and I want to see the alien, so why can't I?!"

"You know the rules, Miss Sadie. You're not even supposed to be here right now." The older woman's voice sounded worried. "Lessons began fifteen minutes ago and I'm sure that your tutor is looking for-"

"Master Kepler doesn't give a damn where I am as long as he gets paid on time." A bang sounded as the door was thrown open and Samuri looked up to see a scrawny, medium sized cat girl leapt through the doorway, a nervous-looking nurse trailing not far behind. She set her curious blue eyes on Samuri, tossing her strawberry blond hair out of her face. "Who are you and where is Balin?"

Samuri blinked and stood there for a moment, too surprised to speak. "Um, I'm Samuri and I have no idea where Balin is. Who are you?" The girl sniffed her delicate nose and plopped down uninvited on the bed, the nurse fretting silently near the doorway. Samuri frowned, as the girl seemed to be so dirty that her dress looked different shades of brown.

The cat girl absently tugged a dirty blonde colored cat ear and pulled her legs into a tailor style stance. "The name's Sadie. And whadda you mean, you don't know where Balin is? Everyone said he was here. More to the point, Aunt C said he was here and anything Aunt C says is true." Samuri just sat there for a moment, not quite able to deal with the girl's energetic attitude. It was like dealing with a talkative six-year old, who never stopped asking questions, and trusted whatever you said.

"Well, he might've been here before, but I don't know about now."

Faint sounds of cheerful laughter and loudening voices bounced off the stones in the corridor, and the young woman in the door, who Samuri assumed was the annoying cat girl's unable keeper, looked nervously about. "Miss Sadie, look your mother comes to scold you. I told you not to come here." The nurse wrung her hands anxiously and Sadie sighed exasperatedly.

"Mother is coming to talk to this girl. Rita, if you're so nervous just leave already, I'll tell Mums that I left you in the nursery. Now, shoo." The nurse scampered out as quickly as possible and Sadie sighed again. "The newcomers are always so shaky." And just as Samuri opened her mouth to finally say something intelligent, through the open doorway swept the Lady Merle, her Aunt Hitomi and two other younger boys that she wasn't sure she knew.

"Samuri, dear, it seems you've woken up finally. We were beginning to get worried," said Merle. "Sadie, I see you've scared off the new girl again. And shouldn't you be in lessons."

The girl pouted and pointed to a lanky silver haired boy who stood grinning by the Queen and another slightly shorter cat boy who looked even smugger. Samuri felt her heart flutter as she stared at the silver haired boy. With his heart melting white-toothed smile, boy-next-door good lucks, and regal air, she knew that he would be a lady-killer when he grew older. His blue-green eyes swam with understanding and compassion, though the glint of boyish youth gave them a cheerful look. He seemed to be the exact opposite of his friend, casually leaning on the taller boy's shoulder. Everything about the cat boy screamed trouble. His honey hinted hair, that matched the scruffy looking cat ears, was decisively messy and a mischievous light gleamed in his cornflower blue eyes.

Sadie's sulky voice brought Samuri back to the present. "Mums, Fallen and Kai are here. I don't see why I can't miss lessons if they are."

"How are you, Samuri?" Hitomi smoothly interrupted before the cat bard could open her mouth to give sharp retort to her daughter. "Balin was worried, so he sent us up. He's a little preoccupied at the moment."

"I'm holding up. What's up with the brat pack, though?" She gestured to the people milling about her. The two unidentified boys were leaning quietly against the wall, acting as if they would have liked to contribute to the conversation but were restrained by the lack of introductions. Sadie had plopped easily down on the floor, and Hitomi looked around smiling slightly, seated on a red brocaded armchair, nearest to the bed.

"Oh, I completely forgot about them." The two boys perked up in interest and the cat girl sighed in boredom. "I see you've already met Sadie and this is my-" The queen was interrupted by a breathless Balin as he barged through the doorway, gasping for breath. His dark hair was ruffled as if he hadn't combed it and Samuri felt her own breath catch and her heartbeat speed up, though she hadn't done any type of running.

"Sorry, I'm late. Father wanted to talk to me. What've I missed?"

"Balin!" Sadie screeched as she launched herself at him. He caught her before she could bowl them both over. "Where have you been?! I've been looking for you everywhere. And why does everyone say that you've got a new girlfriend? You promised you'd be my boyfriend!" The room erupted with laughter and Samuri almost laughed herself sick at the sight of Balin's suddenly wine red face.

"Sadie, er, it's nice to see you too. I haven't got a girlfriend and I really don't think I've made any promises to you about that."

The cat boy smoothly cut in before Sadie could reply. "Balin, stop your fussing and get on with the intro already. I wanna know who the pretty lady is." His playful wink brought a laughing smile to Samuri's lips.

"Well, now this lady's man is my son, Kai, and Sadie's twin." Merle stepped beside her son, catching him around the shoulder.

Balin cleared his throat and gently disentangled Sadie from himself. The silver haired boy stepped up, smirking, and punched him lightly on the arm. "I'm Fallen and this is pushover here is my big brother." Samuri's eyes widened and she almost fell off the bed.

"You've got a brother?!"

Balin raised an eyebrow incredulously, as if he were restating the obvious. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I never thought- I mean, I've been here for about two days now and-"

"Not two days. It's been a week since you've arrived here. You've been out of it for approximately five days."

"What? Okay, I'm not going to ask, but where has you brother been, then?"

"Oh, me, Sadie, Kai, and a couple other people were off on a trip to Asturia when you came. We just got back a few days ago," Fallen replied for his brother, who smirked and gently ruffled the other's perfectly placed hair. The brothers seemed to dote on each other, despite the fact that they were so close in age. They'll probably show they're true feelings later, when I've been around them longer, Samuri thought, grinning as she thought of how her siblings and she acted in company and in private. The difference was astonishing.

"Okay." Samuri massaged her temple and fell back on the bed. "I think I've been out for one too many days or something."

"Sorry about that, Samuri," Hitomi said apologetically. "But the doctors told us to refrain from waking you up. Balin, himself, was only awakened because of an important meeting between his father and him." Balin's expression sobered and he nodded his confirmation.

"Now that you're awake, Lord Van has requested an audience with you to discuss your presence here on Gaea and a few other significant- er- matters that occurred," Merle continued, releasing her son and walking closer to the bed. "If you're up to it, we should get going now. The lesser throne room is quite a walk from here."

"Hey, Mums, do you think that we-"

"Yes, Sadie, you, your brother, and Fallen, may attend as long as you keep your mouths shut," Merle interrupted calmly. "This may pertain to you three as well, but it contains classified information that the public should definitely not hear about and if there is any type of leak you all will be our first suspects. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the three pre-teens chorused obediently.

"Good, you will all wash up before we start off. Appearance is everything and we wouldn't like to present our guest from the Mystic Moon in such a way, now would we?" Merle hinted to Hitomi and Samuri as she ushered the protesting trio out the door and down the hall to a washroom.

Samuri stared her polished steel eyes up at Hitomi suspiciously. "Uh, I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means." Her aunt laughed genially and Balin looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but didn't.

"Sweetheart, it's not like I'm going to dress you up in a formal gown just to see my husband, though Merle might have gotten that idea stuck in your head to torture you." Samuri grimaced a little. From what she'd seen of the cat bard/lady Merle and her mettle, she didn't think she would take up a bet against Hitomi's statement.

A bored Balin headed back out the door. "Mother, I'll return to the throne room and you can prepare Samuri for presenting her to the court. Whatever it is that ladies do to prepare, as I know as much as hell's teeth do about what you women do to take forever. So I'm off again." Samuri's eyes widened at the words 'presenting to the court' came up.

"Balin, you shouldn't curse," replied his mother almost automatically, "and I hope you know that you'll get a very deserved comeuppance for that very chauvinistic statement."

"I know, which is why I'm running now." His cheerful response echoed from the corridor and the queen chuckled and turned back to Samuri.

"Sorry about that, Samuri. You should really get up now and I hope you have a nice shirt to wear. Preferably different and cleaner than the one that you've been wearing since you've gotten here." At the brisk sound of Hitomi's voice, Samuri sighed in defeat.

"Actually, Aunt Hitomi, I don't really have anything that's presentable. But what I really don't get is why you have to 'present me to the court'. I mean, only ladies do that when they're visiting. I'm just like a family member or something. Why do I have to be introduced to everyone? It's not like I'm going to a ball or something anytime soon." The queen nodded, understanding and went to sit beside her on the bed.

"It's not only that, Samuri. You have to be announced an official guest of Fanelia and the King, therefore gaining you official guardianship and protection. Without such, you could be attacked and it would be easier to justify it. The people to do so would claim your alien status as a danger to the city and country."

"That makes sense, but why would anyone want to attack me? I mean, what threat do I pose at all?"

"Well, some people feel that you're dangerous because you're from the alternate universe. And then there's always the believers who feel that- maybe I should let Van explain this. You'll be meeting with him shortly at any rate." She patted Samuri's shoulder reassuringly and changed subjects before the other could object. "We'll have to solve that 'clothesless' problem, though. Good thing you didn't tell Merle. She'd set you up for some immediate tailor appointments. I love her dearly, but she can be so irritating every once in a while. And this clothes obsession of hers is getting on my nerves." The queen sighed with frustration and Samuri couldn't help a little giggle. "Oh, don't worry. She'll go after you, too, once she finds out. But for the time being, I'll get you something comfortable that I would wear if Merle wouldn't lecture me on how I should dress like a queen. I always ask her what for and she gives me a very funny look. You go wash up, there's a basin of water right there, while I ring for the maid to bring it."

Samuri smirked and washed her face and hands. The cool water felt heavenly on her sweaty, dirty, and not washed for a week skin. She closed her eyes and prayed that there was some type of indoor plumbing around, so she could bathe later on.

Five minutes passed and the maid that Hitomi had called had rushed a suitable outfit to her room. "It's a tunic type thing. And it's extremely comfortable with the pants loose and the light cotton shirt," explained Hitomi as Samuri slipped the clothes over her head. They fit fine and the color was flattering, the navy blue of the tunic and pants bringing out a dark violet sheen to her brushed and now cleaned hair and the light white cotton ensured her cool temperature throughout.

"It's wonderful. Thanks, Aunt Hitomi." Samuri went on a limb and hugged her supposed aunt briefly. The queen blushed slightly with pleasure.

"Well, it probably doesn't fit me anymore. Haven't worn it in ages and I probably never will again. So why don't you keep it, Samuri? Daughterless as I am, there's really no one else who can fit it." Samuri flashed a smile and nodded, accepting the gift. A quick knock on the door interrupting the moment.

A cleaned up and formally dressed Sadie, Kai, and Fallen entered with Merle. The cat bard nodded her approval. "You look great. We'd better get going though." Samuri and Hitomi nodded and followed the rest of the group out the door and down the hall.

"Hey, Samuri, didn't recognize you in nice clothes," hissed Sadie, as she dropped back behind Samuri. Silver eyes flashed angrily as Samuri shot one back.

"Didn't recognize you with your face clean."

"Enough, you two," ordered Hitomi, who was attempting to straighten the creases in her pale green gown as she walked. "Merle, can you please braid my hair? It's a mess, right now." Merle rolled her cerulean colored eyes as she paused to commandeer the queen's hair, keeping pace with the fast walking group. Samuri refrained from stating that Hitomi didn't need to fix anything about herself, because even in the queen's state of untidiness she couldn't have looked more stately and beautiful.

"Hitomi, when I left to get cleaned up, why didn't you do the same?"

"I was busy, cleaning up Samuri."

"And I was busy cleaning up your son, mine, and that dirty little kitten I call a daughter, but I still managed." Samuri took in Merle's spotless saffron hued gown and the smoothly pinned back cerise colored hair.

"Hey!"

Everyone ignored the expected input of Sadie's. "Merle, I forgot, okay? I mean, we've both been married for over a decade. We aren't expected to look perfect every morning, nor do we."

"I understand, Hitomi. But just this once, you could've taken it into account."

"I was busy with sending out supplies and rations to the countryside. I forgot. Being sovereign isn't about dressing nicely all the time. I was helping people, I don't have time for everything!"

"All right, all right. At least you look half decent now." The cat woman stepped back after tying the bow to the end of the long braid. Samuri blinked, having been fascinated by the conversation and a bit sad that it had ended. She looked around at her companions, taking in their cleaner and better dressed than they had been state. Kai and Fallen walked together, obviously the best of friends, their heads locked together in deep conversation and Samuri felt trouble brewing. Sadie trailed them, listening quietly and sulking slightly at being scrubbed clean, no doubt, Samuri thought smugly. The cat girl's face was now spotless and a little pink from cleanliness. Her dress had been replaced with a new baby blue one, the color matching her eyes.

Samuri couldn't help a tiny little sneer as a "Goldilock" thought shot through her mind. Sadie caught the change of face, followed up on the thought thread, and glared daggers in silent reply.

After a tiring fifteen-minute walk, Samuri figured that they were close to their destination. Courtiers in elaborate clothing that looked extremely hot passed them, bowing and curtsying to the passing monarchs. Hitomi and Fallen acknowledged them with a wave of their hands, while Merle and the twins nodded deeply. Samuri clasped her hands uneasily behind her back, unsure of what to do in her situation and was extremely thankful when they reached two large oak doors, engraved with the royal Fanelian crest of two intertwined dragons. And the two guards flanking them bowed to their sovereign as she swept by.

A young page hurried to open the doors for them and another piped their entrance. His voice high and soprano above the rustling of skirts and clothes in the large room.

"Her Royal Majesty, the Queen Hitomi de Fanel and His Royal Highness, the Prince Folken Guarov de Fanel." The queen and Fallen stepped forward, nodding deeply to the rest of the room, and the page continued. "Her Ladyship and Royal Bard, wife of the Royal Ambassador, Merle Schezar, and her children, Sadira and Mekhi Schezar." Merle, Sadie, and Kai stepped forward and curtsied and bowed appropriately. The pageboy paused and looked confusedly at Samuri. He glanced helplessly around for assistance in announcing her. Fallen and Kai seemed all too pleased to comply, stepping aside and whispering something into his ear, laughing and giggling the while. The page frowned, but nodded, continuing hesitantly, "A visitor from afar, A-man-owes-Some-urine."

The heat in Samuri's face rose dramatically and Merle and Hitomi groaned as the trio of pre-teens cracked up, clutching the stitches in their sides. If looks could kill the three would be taking their last laughs.

As Merle gently collected the troublesome trio by their ears and Samuri had the delight of listening to the brats whine in pain, Hitomi cleared her throat and kindly bent to whisper a correction in the page's ear. The boy reddened faintly and quickly called, "Oh, I mean, Amano Samuri."

Samuri's face was still burning with embarrassment, the titters of the surrounding courtiers sounded loudly in the throne room, and she was beginning to wish she could just disappear. Then, a hush settled over the crowd of courtiers as they bowed low, the king standing to greet them. Hitomi squeezed Samuri's hand in comfort and made her way down the red carpet leading to the dais and into her husband's embrace.

The Fanelian crest and colors hung on a banner above the dais and on each of the Court officials' uniforms. The pages were donned in velvet red overcoats, the gold Fanelian crest embroidered in the fronts and backs. Samuri could even see the Fanelian insignia ring glinting from the King's finger. The double dragons were placed everywhere and it wasn't hard to tell whose court she was in.

Behind the couple, Samuri saw the older blonde man that she remembered seeing before, but wasn't quite sure where, stood with Balin. Their expressions were grave and Samuri knew that the matter

The King gently pulled out his embrace and gestured for the courtiers to rise. He nodded slightly to Merle, who pushed Samuri forward under the King's reflected light. "I, Van de Fanel, King of Fanelia, would like to formally welcome this visitor from afar into my country and my household to stay as a guest. Lady Amano will be under Fanelia's aegis, under our protection, and under our wing, for as long as she remains here. If she is so much as offended in the slightest way, whether it be physically or in any other way, the might of all Fanelia and Her allies will stand in her defense."

His clear voice, the sheer strength and command of it, echoed in the room. The royal robes of office gave him an air of distinction and even if he hadn't had the golden circlet sparkling through his dark hair, everyone knew who was in charge. And as the heads of all the courtiers bowed in acknowledgment, Samuri knew that the King's pronouncement was heard and would be obeyed to the letter, including the unsaid warning to respect her. Samuri couldn't help a shiver of awe at the King's obvious power.

After the moment had faded, the King glanced at his herald, who nodded in acknowledgment and turned to the crowd of nobles. He knocked his staff three times on the floor, signaling the dismissal of the Court. "The Royal Court has now been dismissed." The courtiers murmured softly as they exited and Sadie and Kai shot forward to the dais, weaving easily through the stream of people.

"Daddy!"

Their shouts of joy brightened the intensity of the previous atmosphere as the twins charged straight at the handsome blonde man that Samuri knew by sight, though not by name. Merle followed them at a slower pace, a curious Samuri trailing close behind.

"Well, what have you two troublemakers been up to, other than torturing helpless innocents?" the man asked jovially as he bent to hug them.

"Oh, the usual, my lord. Mess and mayhem." Merle approached the man calmly, a sparkle that Samuri had never seen before in her eyes. The man didn't try to separate the twin pre-teens from himself, but reached out and enfolded the cat woman into his embrace with them. The smooth lady Merle blushed slightly when Sadie and Kai quickly extricated themselves and the man gallantly dipped her over, kissing her firmly on the lips.

The two twins and Fallen whooped jokingly and the King and Queen smiled broadly, as they themselves reached out to grab the other's hand. Even Balin cracked a smile, though he seemed distracted. When Merle had finally escaped the lip lock, she smiled breathlessly and turned to an impressed Samuri.

"Beg your pardon, and I've forgotten to introduce this rascal of a husband. This is my husband, Allen Schezar, the Royal Ambassador of Fanelia, born of Asturia, but I've got him tight in my claws here and now and I don't think I'm going to give him back." Merle grinned in a way that Samuri had never thought the elegant and graceful cat lady could, as her husband smiled warmly and bowed formally to Samuri. The knight in shining armor that her aunt had told her about was even more charming than she had thought. His flashing smile and piercing blue eyes cut straight to her heart and she could feel her knees beginning to give.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Amano." Samuri couldn't get herself to reply to the suave knight staring and smiling at her, so she nodded jerkily, praying that she didn't look too much the idiot. "But I'm afraid that I've distracted everyone fully for a moment, and we must get back onto business."

She sighed with relief and felt the strange burden lift from her shoulders as he looked away and turned to the King. The commanding man had been talking softly with his queen and nodded resignedly, sighing. "You're right, Allen. Please follow me, everyone. The Council is waiting for us." He moved down the dais steps and over to a side door of the room, everyone left in the room following his lead.

She stepped through the door and found herself in a smaller room that held a large rectangular table, where five people sat in wait. The King seemed to be confused at the amount of empty chairs at the table, but smiled warmly as a strikingly beautiful golden haired woman and a dreamy-looking man stood to greet him.

"Dryden! Millerna! What are you two doing here? I hadn't heard that you had arrived here so early."

The man smiled and shoved a hair through his messy silver locks. "Well, Van, we heard some disturbing news and decided that we couldn't afford to wait for all the fuss and fanfare to arrive here." The woman marred her smooth forehead with a small frown.

"We would have announced ourselves to the Court earlier, but we decided that that could wait until after we had met with you."

Hitomi stepped forward, her expression filled with concern. "So the news is very important? Has something happened in Asturia?"

"Oh, no, no," the man replied and he stared at Samuri for a moment. She swallowed with anxiety under the pressure of his gaze. "The first bit of it was something about a Mystic Moonling and the reappearance of that light from the sky. And as there is a newcomer among us, I'm sure that our sources were correct. The news can wait until after introductions and it will take quite a while to explain. So we'd better get on with them."

An eagle-like elderly woman sitting stoutly in her high-backed chair, glared out at them through wire-rimmed spectacles. "The fact that you have not even informed the Council of this girl's presence and status is intolerable, your Majesty." Samuri saw both Van and the man, she assumed to be named Dryden, wince at the harshness in the woman's voice.

"Of course, Lady Solon. I was going to explain it to you all right now, but it seems that they've all disappeared from here."

Lady Solon pursed her lips into a tight white line and glared harder at her ruling King, who flinched visibly. "I dismissed them all as your visiting… guests said they had important news to address to you, your Majesty."

"Oh." The King took a deep breath and seemed to be steeling himself for attack as he forced himself to go on. "That's all very well, Lady Solon, but perhaps next time you should wait to dismiss the Council before I can speak to them. I understand your sentiments for letting them off early as I would probably have my time occupied with my guests, but it will be extremely hard to bring them all back today and I had urgent business to discuss with them."

The woman blinked, as if considering her king's reasoning, and nodded. "As you wish, your Majesty." The King didn't waste time on a sigh of relief, though he looked as if he wanted to and Samuri (and she was sure a lot of other people in the room) let out a bated breath of relief for him. He gestured for everyone to sit and then started the discussion.

"Introductions seem to be needed. As I've already stated to the Court of Fanelia, this is Amano Samuri, my official guest of house here in Fanelia. She is from the Mystic Moon, so your reports were right. The light appeared again and brought her here." The silence that ensued was tense. "This is my advisor, Lady Tahiri Solon. She has graciously accepted the position after her husband has passed away a year ago." Samuri felt an inward flinch as the woman mentioned glared intensely at her. The King gestured for a thin good-looking young man, appearing to be in his early thirties or late twenties to stand up and introduced him. "This is the newly elected Prime Minister, Adenine Grekial. These are my dear friends, rulers of our ally, Asturia, King Dryden and Queen Millerna Fassa." Samuri felt her eyes widen as they focused on the man and woman seated diagonally from her.

A fierce, well-muscled man with too many scars to count cleared his throat softly as he stepped out of the shadows of a corner. "And this is my head general, Phadis Grekial. He and Adanine are paternal cousins and Phadis is also in charge of my personal security as well as my family's." Samuri glanced from the handsome young Prime Minister to the scarred guarding general and couldn't see any type of resemblance, besides their brown hair coloring. She blinked and sensed that by judging the calculated averted looks between the two, there was a definite tension.

"At this point, I planned to send the rest of the Council out of the room." The King's face darkened visibly and Samuri saw out of the corner of her eyes, the trio of pre-teen troublemakers lean forward in avid interest. "This concerns you, Samuri."

The King's ruby colored eyes, so like Balin's, focused on her and she knew that the rest of the room was doing the same, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that the kind and caring gaze would not stop staring at her. Had she actually thought that the knight ambassador was the handsomest man she had ever seen? Obviously she had been mistaken. "What happened the other day was entirely out of the ordinary and was a warning to us. And I don't ignore warnings. Especially when they're shouted as loud as yours was." He paused as if waiting for her reply and she nervously moistened her suddenly dry lips.

"Sir, I don't think I understand what you're talking about. What warning did I give to you at all?" And before the King could respond, the man called Phadis slammed his hands against the table and shoved himself up, his chair falling backwards with a clatter.

"She's lyin'," he growled menacingly. "The lyin', deceivin' bitch deliberately put the King and Queen in danger that day, openin' a vortex to another dimension right here in the castle and then blatantly refusin' to translate that damned prophecy she made."

The King cleared his throat and shook his head violently, signaling for the man to stop, but Phadis hadn't finished yet, his voice rising steadily over the surprised murmuring of the rest of the room.

"The little witch shouldn't be declared a guest of Fanelia! She should be declared a traitor of high treason and burned at the stake-"

"That will be quite enough, Phadis," the King ordered somewhat angrily.

By then just about the whole table had stood up, Fallen and Kai restraining a furious Balin from attacking the general and everyone else in a state of moving shock. Samuri had sunk into her seat, her mouth falling open and suppressed tears burning her eyes. And under the gaze of everyone in the room she slowly rose to her feet and turned around, calmly and silently walked out of the door, quietly closing the door behind her.

Immediately after, Balin shoved his brother and Kai away from him, rushing out the door and after Samuri. The queen sighed and looked at her husband for direction. He nodded and quietly dismissed the rest of the room.

"High General Phadis, that was completely uncalled for," Van said after they were left alone. "It was not your fault what happened. You were under my orders to be elsewhere. I understand your feelings, but that is no reason to vent them out on Samuri. She is a guest here and you have offended her. You know what will happen now." His head general and protector nodded silently and made to leave.

"I'll be expecting your formal apology or your resignation by tonight."

That made the general pause and turn to his liege, his rapid country accent gone now. "Sire, I owe you everything that I am, so I have served you loyally for over a decade. Is this girl from the Mystic Moon really worth it?" Van's eyes softened and he gripped his loyal friend's hand.

"Yes. There was no need for Samuri to translate her own prophecy. Merle and my wife have done it sufficiently enough. They have formally stated in their analysis of the situation that Samuri probably won't remember exactly what happened and even if she did, she wouldn't understand anything. The girl was possessed by a higher being. She was a tool used to give us a message, a warning. That's all. She's not a witch or a demon, just a girl blessed by the Gods with a special power not much unlike my wife's."

The burly man immediately bowed deeply to his King. "If that is your judgment, then I will respect it. You will have my formal apology this evening." And with that he turned to leave, but paused again, turning back with an afterthought. "The bard-lady Merle has informed me that this girl holds the fate of all Fanelia and perhaps all of Gaea in her hands. Should I hold to that, sire?" Van frowned slightly in confusion and nodded hesitantly.

"You should."

"My apology should be extremely good, then?" he asked, looking more than a little awkward and Van barely resisted the urge to grin. His generals weren't the type of people to apologize well.

"I should think so."

"Very well, sire."

The general was out of the door as if his heels were on fire and only then would Van allow himself to laugh.

Standard Disclaimer: *bursts into tears* tagged! I do NOT own the Visions of Escaflowne, nor do I ever think I will, but the new guys (including my Troublesome Trio) r mine, so don't take 'em!

* Author's Note *

hey everybody!

This is my favorite chapter yet! Whadda u think? The Trio was all me, but scary Lady Tahiri has to be credited to my friend Meghanna Starsong, who I think also writes fics around here, as well as some excellent artwork, so check her out.

Anyhow, I admit that my humor here (the name jokes) r a little second grade, but come on! What's life w/o the funnies? Plus, if the Trio wants to, I can't say no *grin*, yeah, I'm a bad maker, but I can't help it. Spoiling 'em is too fun. Hmm, I added a couple other charas, as u can see, and they're gonna have a pretty important part in the future, so don't forget 'em.

Still working on the next chapter, and I have a little bit of a writer's block (my muse has gone on an indefinitely extended vacation) so it'll take a little while. That's about it for now.

-w.r