Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond the Moon ❯ Prologue

I know this will probably scare most people off, but this is my first attempt at a post-series Escaflowne fic. This marks a new era! ^_^ ...Alright. To be honest, I haven't seen the last episode of the series yet, but from the fics I've read so far, I have a good idea of what happens. So until I do see it, here's the prologue. I know it's a bit cliché, but I feel that Van and Hitomi had a lot of growing up to do before they could ever romantically approach each other. They were just too much of children. Reviews welcome, as usual. I mean.. who wouldn't like some encouragement every once in a while? I'd also like readers to be aware that the prologue's tense is temporary; I may shift to a different first person or just to third persion period. ^.^

Beyond the Moon - Prologue.

The day I left my angel's arms would stay with me for the rest of my life. This I knew, as soon as I returned to my home.

Now, I don't remember much of what happened for the next few months. It was all a haze of emotionless time, a fog of all my mixed feelings raging inside me. Sadness that I left behind all my friends: Allen, Millerna, Dryden, Folken, even violent little Merle. As was to be expected, I missed Van most of all.

I was too young, I suppose, to admit anything to that boy. He was so innocent in his own way. He had suffered so much, from the loss of his brother to the physical pain and agony Escaflowne caused him. I guess, even after I began to recover from my excursion to Gaea, I realized it was my fault. But in the end, it had all turned out for the best.

I kept everything from Gaea hidden away in a desk drawer, especially the long, silver feather Van had bestowed on me. Somehow I knew that if I had it out, if I ever saw it again, the pain would become unbearable.

My cards were pretty much ignored as well. I would take them out sometimes if I had an especially difficult day at school, just to make myself feel better. It never succeeded. "La Torre" haunted me constantly. Every time I dealt my fortune, the symbol would be the first drawn. My curse never failed, even when I attempted to mark the cards for the mere purpose of cheering myself up.

Amano, after I had returned and recovered, left with his father. He returned before graduation, of course, but we exchanged a hug and a few words, and that was all. Yukari acted like an overprotective mother for weeks, but she also moved on. She and Amano dated, but that also died with time.

My mother, after she cried when I returned, never really brought up the topic of my disappearance again. It wasn't until after I had graduated highschool that I had the courage to think about Gaea and Van.

I had gone to a nearby university, and initially studied regular freshman topics. In the dorm I shared with a young student from the north, I kept Van's feather perched in a glass fixture residing on the desk beside my computer. This had allowed for the proper inspiration to write a book of my adventures.

I had written everything. From the circumstances leading to the fateful day on the track to the months after my return from Gaea. I would close my eyes and remember: I could see Naria's wrinkling face, the glory of Escaflowne as it spread its massive wings, and even the pain in Van's eyes as Allen and I kissed on the bridge. I put all the bottled up emotion into the story, typing furiously, scribbling during lectures, and even doodling Millerna's intricate dresses while I rode the bus downtown.

This obsession led me to majoring in creative writing during my stay at college. It took me three years to finish my book, which had developed into a 1000-page long volume at minimum size. Before I even considered publishing it, I offered it to my new apartment roommate Ayaka to read.

She had engrossed herself in the novel for two days. The first night I gave her the printed manuscript, she had just nodded and told me she would read it before bed.

I didn't see her the next morning. Ayaka had completely engrossed herself in it, and had her nose buried in the fourth loosely-stapled portion of the book at eight in the morning. She had skipped work, calling in sick, and had even locked her door to keep me out when I returned from my office job downtown.

When she was done, she wouldn't speak to me for a week.

I knew I wasn't that excellent of a writer, or even that insightful of a person in general. I thought maybe she just didn't want to tell me how awful it was.

When Ayaka finally did speak to me, the first thing she uttered was, "Holy shit, Hitomi." She had sat down with me on the couch and asked me... asked me if that was why I stared into the starry sky on nights we went to small outdoor parties on the weekends. Before I could answer, she grabbed me by the shoulders, and with tears in her eyes, had told me how sorry she was. Sorry that I had had to leave Van, had to see all the things I did, and feel all the pain I had.

Ayaka had then gone to work. I decided it was too dangerous to publish my story, so I deleted it from my computer and threw away the transcript.

And, after eight long years, I had finally grown up. I watched the feather on the desk, shimmering in the rainbow light the glass prism reflected off the moon. I gazed at the sky, knowing that somewhere behind the bright, silver orb in the sky, lay Gaea.

I knew that now was the time to return.