Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Cryptic Knives ❯ In This Light ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five

In This Light

In this light,

I can see the angels,

Burning from the inside out,

They spread their wings to die.

In this light,

I can see the people,

The damaged goods,

They take this life,

It's passing by.

*****

`I'm waiting for you.' Delphi was running in a familiar field. Everything around her was burning and was in slow motion, except her. She kept hearing that awful low, horse whisper repeating in her head. `I'm waiting for you………at the end.' `You'll die………in the end.' Every time he said the last part the slow moving flames would try and kiss the sky. Her pendant was swinging around her neck, sometimes hitting her in the face, and her jaw length hair was sometimes getting caught in her face.

She was still running and the eerie whisper was still echoing in her head. `Are you coming? I'm waiting for you? At the end; you'll die, at the end.' It repeated over and over again. She wasn't going to stop running but something knocked her down. The whispers were gradually getting louder and so were the flames. It sounded as if there was more than one person whispering now. The sentences were not said in unison, but were said seconds after one other had said it. Some repeated themselves and some simply went on to the other sentence.

There was the sound of metal against metal and even though Delphi could only see one sword and one person, the sound of many swords being drawn ricocheted from all directions. His sword was held high and he drove the sword down just as she woke up.

Delphi awoke in the same place where she had fallen asleep and was panting. She really expected someone to put her in her cell or something, not to just leave her on the cool floor. She was shivering before she fell asleep last night was still shivering now, mainly because she was dripping in sweat.

She brought a hand up to her pendant and it was still wrapped securely around her neck. She ran her hands through her shoulder length sandy blonde hair and sighed, while looking around. All the swords were gone, except for the ones on the wall. Delphi was almost positive they were for show.

Delphi stood up and walked over to the door, which was still not budging. `So are they going to keep me in here forever now?' she complained to herself. She felt really sick and tried not to grieve about her father. She looked over at the benched and her eyes fell on the door.

`If those really are showers, then I can take one' she got up and strolled over to the door. She opened the door and inside was very dark, but smelled of soap. She smiled inwardly and scanned the area with her hands outstretched out for any sort of light fixture. She found two lanterns on a table, one of which she knocked over.

When she finally got the lantern lit she saw that she was right; it was a shower room. Delphi stripped down and took a quick shower. After, she dried off with a towel that she wasn't sure if it was really all that clean, got dressed and left the shower room. Still, there was no sign that any one had come or gone so Delphi decided to go over and check the swords on the wall.

They didn't look like they were used in fighting with but she didn't care. She ripped on off the wall and examined it. She pulled it out of the sheath a little ways and decided that it was in really good shape. She walked along the wall still and found a small dagger attached to a belt that was to fit around one's leg. She relieved the wall of it and decided to attach it to her left thigh.

When she got back to the sword she swipe off the wall she unsheathed it fully and spun around holding it level with her eye. She brought it down diagonally, bending her body slightly to right and then she brought it back up straight and right across in front of her bringing it to the left side of her. She did numerous amounts of moves, going about the floor gracefully and sometimes thrusting the sword forward as if to pierce someone. She spun around again and collided with something.

She was heaving as she stared into cerulean blue eyes and the eyes stared back just as shocked as hers were. She lifted her sword from his and forcefully drew a circle above her head, causing the sword to come crashing down in a matter of seconds onto the enemies. The enemy was ready and just as forcefully pushed her back. She ran at him again and swung her sword, it running along his until they were face to face. Her hair was swinging back and forth, causing drops of water to slash on to her opponents face and onto her shoulders. He pushed her sword to the side with his vigorously and lightly cut her hand causing her to drop the sword. When she did however, she stumbled backwards and tripped over it, landing on her right side and her elbows, her face inches off the floor. She heard him advancing and she quickly turned and saw a sword pointing near her neck.

Delphi, without hesitation gripped the handle of the dagger and knocked the sword out of the way for second. However, just as easy as the first time he had knocked the sword out of her hand he did it again with the dagger and with just as much ease. His sword once again found the place and pointed it right at her trachea. Then he lightly tapped the flat of his sword under her chin; she took it as a hit to stand up.

Delphi unwillingly, but quickly stood up. He turned the sword once more and drew himself closer, still keeping the sharp part of the blade on her neck. When he was an inch in front of her face he asked her, `What's you name?'

`I'm not telling you.' She breathed easily.

`Why?' he requested in the same tone as before, sweet but with a challenging undertone.

`I don't want to.' She replied simply.

`I'm Chesta.' he told her, backing off a little.

Caught off guard by his sudden leave of her neck with his sword and his sudden telling of his name she responded nonchalantly, `Delphi.'

He nodded. `You shouldn't be playing with these.' He told her, turning his back to her. He was in the same uniform that she had seen them wear the night they attacked her town. The same black leather and the same blue armor. She wondered if these were the only articles of clothing they owned. When she finally came to she noticed that Chesta had put the swords back up on the wall and was making his way back to her.

`Here.' He said, handing her some bread. Delphi looked at him and when he flicked his wrist and the bread towards her, she grabbed it out of his hands and practically swallowed it whole.

`Lord Dilandau wants to see you.' He said after a couple of minutes.

`Why do you do as he says?' she asked, finishing the last few bites.

`I told you.'

`That's a dumb reason. Don't you want to be with your family? Miss them?'

`I don't have a family. My mother died when I was young and my father sent me here not long after.'

`I'm sure your father loves you.' She said evenly.

`I'm sure I hate him' was his bitter answer, simple and short but full of anger. `Now come on.' He led the way and she followed, her hair was stringing and starting to dry.

*****

Dilandau wasn't sitting in his throne staring at his group of slayers when Chesta and Delphi came in and Delphi could instantly feel the tension swimming around the room. Instead he was walking pacing back and forth, lashing out at the slayers and sometimes hitting one, depends on where he was.

`Incompetent! This is not tolerable! You are a bunch of naïve, worthless slayers if you perform like that in battle.'

`Sir.' They said in unison and Dilandau slapped one of them to the floor. He had longer hair then most, shorter than some, a strawberry blonde in color. The slayer got up immediately and stood straight again, just as the others were doing.

`Three injured?' he said in harsh whisper. `Two Alseides wrecked, three damaged?' Dilandau raged. `You are incompetent fools.' He hissed and then waited a few seconds before yelling; `get out!' while pointing towards the door. They hurriedly walked through the door. Delphi could see that about nine or ten of them had red marks on their face.

`That means you to Chesta.' Dilandau said, not looking at him. Chesta turned and left, without even a glance to Delphi.

After a few moments of silence, Dilandau walked over to the drawer on his desk and pulled something out of it.

`I believe that this has some value to you, does it not?' He assumed, holding up the pendant he stole from her earlier. Delphi gritted her teeth.

`Yes.' She said.

`Then let me make myself clear.' He folded the chain into the palm of his hand. `I have a preposition for you. Give me that pendant around your neck and I'll give you this one.'

`I told you I couldn't! And I still can't'

`I will throw this away, off the hanger if you don't give that pendant to me right now.'

`I CAN'T ALL RIGHT!' she shouted and stomped her foot.

`Dilandau.' Dilandau shot his head towards the door and Delphi spun around to see who had called the name with such a melancholy voice. The man was wearing a black and dark purple cloak. She also noticed that he had a purple teardrop under his right eye. He had turquoise colored hair and brown eyes

`Leave us.' Said the man and Delphi more than willingly left the room. When the door slid open and a boy was standing there. He had a silver tinge to his sandy blond hair, his teal eyes impassive.

`Come to escort me to my room?' she inquired `Where's Chesta? I thought he is supposed to look after me.' She was walking very closely to him, instead of behind him. `I look after you today.'

`Then why did he get me earlier.' The boy blushed slightly.

`There were matters to discuss that really didn't concern him.' He stopped and opened at door that led into her cell and steeped aside.

`You got in trouble didn't you?' The boy blushed a deeper shade of pink and pointed a finger into the room. Delphi walked in and went straight to her bed.

`Tomorrow is the Dragonslayers only day off. I don't know what you'll be doing but I think Lord Dilandau will have you polish our swords again.'

`Great.' She said sarcastically.

`I don't like it much either. I'd rather polish my own sword, we all would.' He left the room and left Delphi sitting on her bed, with nothing better to do but sit and look pretty so-to-speak.

*****

Delphi had decided to get some sleep while she had the chance but it wasn't very well slept. Her mind kept replaying the death of her father over and over again. Only this time she had the chance to save, but everytime she tried there was something stopping her.

The first time she dreamt it, it was the same as the night it happened only instead of just saying his name she was about to say `behind you' but she didn't have a voice and she had to watch as he died again. The second time she dreamt it she saw the same thing again, but someone, Dilandau she thought, covered her mouth and pulled her back and she had to watch in horror once again as her father was murdered with such brutality. The third time she didn't watch her father die, she couldn't get there in time to warn him, she got there to see Dilandau over him, laughing maniacally but staring directly at her. The last time it seemed as if her and her fathers positions switched. She was looking for her father when she felt the pain from behind her and then the pain came again.

Delphi saw the ground coming closer and then everything turned white. She saw herself in a vast white plane with only a desk. On the desk was one drawer and inside it was a dagger; the one Dilandau had. She saw herself lying on the floor in a pool of blood, the dagger in hand stripped of its jewels. She saw Dilandau, Folken and Chesta. Then just as quickly and it turned white, everything faded to black and she was back in the middle of her burning town, her father beside her and arrow pointed towards her neck; the arrow was shot.

`Daddy………' Delphi screamed and shot up in bed. She was breathing heavily and her face was coated with sweat. Her blankets were strewn and toppling off of her bed. She brought her knees up, wrapping her arms around them and started sobbing quite loudly. She heard the door open but didn't bother looking at it she just continued to cry as loud as she could into her knees, shaking violently.

`What- what's wrong.' The boy, Gatti asked in a panic. Delphi did notice that they weren't as hard-shelled as Dilandau and did have some sympathy, but still she just maintained her sobbing into her knees. He heard the door slid shut again and then started to repeat the words `daddy' in a small whisper, rocking back and forth while she was bawling.

She heard the door open and again and then close. She heard footsteps coming closer but she didn't look. When she felt another weight on the bed she shot her head up and looked at the blonde boy in front of her. Her eyes were pink and puffy, as were her cheeks. She sniffed and then said just above a whisper, `I hate you. I hate you all.'

`I know.' Chesta said softly, looking at her gently. `I'm sorry.'

`You should be.' She said in a hateful tone through whimpers and shivers.

`I know.' His voice was very sincere and truthful.

`I hate you.' She said louder and then bent her head and started crying into her lap. She felt movement on the bed again and felt arms wrap around her bringing her down on his chest from her torso up on her side. Her legs were tangled up behind her and she struggled to get loose from his hospitable embrace. She weakly hit his chest with a loosely balled fist and said the piercing words once again, `I hate all of you.'

`I know.' He repeated in a shallow voice. `I know.' He rested his chin on her head when she started to relax and not struggle. She didn't stop crying however, she cried harder, flinging her arms around him, not caring about how uncomfortable she was. She had stopped thinking about anything but her father. Chesta stroked her hair soothingly, rocking her gently back and forth.

Delphi stopped crying and fell asleep in Chesta's arms. When he felt that her breathing had slowed he laid her down and covered her up to her waist, letting her cover herself to the desired wish but she didn't. She only rolled over onto her side and let one arm frappe over the side of the bed, and then Chesta left the room.

`What did you do?' Gatti asked Chesta when he left the room.

`I………showed her a little bit of hospitality.' He answered and then left for his own room to go to sleep.