Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon's Future ❯ Dragon's Flight ( Chapter 8 )

This chapter is the end of Part 1.  If you want to see Part 2, please review, otherwise I will not post it on MediaMiner.

Chapter 7: Dragon's Flight

"Thank goodness Merle found you, Van!" Hitomi cried when they galloped into the courtyard.  She was standing on the steps holding Bethany, alerted to their return by the cries of the sentries.

Merle leaped to the ground and Van swung down after her.  "Have you had another vision?"

Hitomi nodded.  "I saw Yukari in the middle of a great storm," she told them.  "I had the feeling she caused it, somehow."  Hitomi moved close to Van and grasped his arm with one hand.  "She's in terrible danger!"

"Do you know where she is?"  Van asked.

"In the same place as Darvi, I'm sure of it."

Van put an arm around her waist and turned her toward the castle.  "All right.  I don't have much time.  I've sent the samurai toward the village where you saw Darvi.  I'll awaken Escaflowne and meet them there."

They hurried into the castle.  Merle trotted beside them.  "I want to go with you."

"No, Merle, absolutely not."  Van shook his head firmly.  "I want you to stay here and look after Hitomi and the children."

"But, Van…" she started to protest.

"I said no!" Van repeated, feeling a sense of dejá vue.  This was the same argument he'd had with Darvi before leaving to search for Yukari.  "I may be going into a fight, Merle.  I can't risk it.  I won't put any more of my loved ones in danger."

Merle's tail lashed fiercely, but she stopped arguing.

Van left them in the main hall.  He had never showed anyone where he kept Escaflowne's energist.  Stored behind a hidden panel in the wall of the dojo, the small chest holding the drag-energist was covered in dust.  He removed the energist and tucked it inside his shirt.  On the hill behind the castle, Escaflowne still rested where he'd left it the day Hitomi left, twenty-one years ago.  Buried in leaves and vines, the guymelef was barely recognizable.  Van brushed away the litter covering the red jewel of the dragon's heart.  Removing the energist from his shirt, he pressed it against the seemingly hard surface of the jewel.  His hand holding the energist sank into the stone.  He released the energist and pulled his hand out, and watched as the stone and then Escaflowne came to life.

"I had hoped never to call on you again, my friend," he said.

Escaflowne's eyes glowed green and the cockpit opened.

Van was tired.  He had not slept for two days.  But he could not rest now.  Yukari and Darvi needed him.  There would be time enough for sleep later.  He climbed up into Escaflowne and settled into the pilot's seat.  He slipped his hands and feet into the controls and the guymelef closed around him.  He stood and Escaflowne rose with him.

"We need to fly!" he shouted and jumped into the air.  Escaflowne transformed into the dragon and they flew high over Fanelia, heading south.

- - - - - - - -

The beast huts had not been spared by the onslaught of the storm.  Yukari's hut was relatively undamaged, but several of the others appeared to have been blown down.  Sitting in the middle of the remains of one hut was a tawny-furred young cat-man with long auburn hair.  The black tip of his tail flicked up and down when he saw Yukari, but otherwise he didn't move.  Yukari, on the other hand, shrieked with joy and broke away from the two warriors escorting her and raced toward him.  She hadn't gone five steps before an iron hand clamped down on her shoulder and yanked her to a halt.

"Let me go!" she cried.  She struggled futilely against that tight grip, tears streaming down her cheeks.  "Darvi!"  She held her hands out toward him, one still clutching the drag-energist.  The energist suddenly flared to life and a wave of red flame washed over her.  The flame didn't hurt Yukari at all, but the man gripping her shoulder cried out in pain and snatched his hand away.  Yukari immediately stumbled forward, just barely managing to keep her feet until she could scramble over the debris of the shattered hut and collapse into Darvi's arms.

Darvi held her tight and stroked her hair, his deep purr rumbling in her ear.  Yukari just held him and wept. 

"What is this?" demanded Surk.  His voice shook with anger.

"The power stone burned me, Sorcerer."  The injured warrior was holding his burned hand by the wrist.  He nodded toward Yukari and Darvi.  "She called him by name."

"Did she?"  A cunning look came over Surk's face.  He moved as close as the debris would allow him and stared at the two young people.  Yukari shuddered at the cold, heartless smile on his face.  "This gives me an idea for a suitable punishment for this fiasco."  His dark eyes fixed on Yukari.  "You will pay with your life for what you have cost us, but we will not risk the protective wrath of your power stone."  He raised his voice, speaking loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear, including those captured beast men who had not escaped during the storm.  "Tomorrow, you will be bound to a stake in the center of the arena.  Whichever of these fighters spills your blood will be set free.  And this one," he pointed at Darvi, "may try to protect you, if it suits him."

Darvi growled deep in his throat.  "It suits me," he snarled.

"Good." Surk laughed mirthlessly.  "And whichever fighter kills you will also be freed."

Darvi's tail lashed, but he said nothing.

"Post guards around them," Surk said.  "They are to receive nothing, neither food nor water.  Let them find comfort in each other."  He gave them a cruel smile and stalked away.

"I'm so sorry, Darvi!" Yukari whispered.  "I should never have run away."

"Damn right you shouldn't have!  What the hell were you thinking?"

"I thought you would be mad at me for lying."  Tears continued to course down her cheeks.

Darvi kissed the top of her head.  "You know I always forgive you, Yukari.  Although, this particular incident may take me awhile." 

She looked up to see him smiling.

He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his fingertips.  "Don't be afraid.  We'll get through this.  We're together.  We can do anything if we're together."

Yukari looked around.  Beyond the ring of guards circling them at a safe distance, beast men of different stripes watched them hungrily.  No doubt they saw only their freedom, not a frightened little girl and a half-grown cat-man.  "There are so many of them," she whispered fearfully.

"Don't think about it."  Darvi stroked her hair again.  "I won't let anyone hurt you."

She huddled against him and an incongruous thought made her giggle, albeit a little hysterically.  "Mother would be upset if she knew we were spending the night together."

"Not this time," he murmured. "This time I don't think she'd have it any other way."

- - - - - - - -

Van spotted the samurai in a clearing below him.  Sesston waved as Van circled overhead and angled Escaflowne in for a landing.

"We have scouted the village, my lord," he said as Van climbed down.  "Some disaster or other occurred recently."

"Did you see Yukari?"

"Aye, we did.  She and Darvi both were under heavy guard.  We took no chances.  Those of their warriors that we could see outnumber us two to one."

"Hitomi said she had a vision of a terrible storm and she thinks Yukari caused it somehow."

"Ah." Sesston nodded.  "That would explain the damages we saw."

Van nodded as well.  "And it also explains why she's under guard."  He frowned as he thought about possible strategies.  "I need to see where the children are being held.  If the guards are too close, they can kill the children before I can get to them."

"We can draw some of their warriors away from the village," Sesston suggested.

"Yes, but we have to be careful.  We can't let anyone realize that Yukari and Darvi are being rescued until it's too late to stop us.  How many men are here?"

"One hundred and twelve."

"Very well."  Van said.  "Form two columns of forty men each and have them approach the village from the southwest.  Have the remainder approach from the north, but wait out of sight until I have the children.  I'll fly in from the southeast.  From there, we must play it by ear."

"Yes, sire."

As soon as the two columns started away, Van climbed back into the dragon's cockpit and leapt up into the sky.  He gained altitude away from the village and then turned to fly south, praying they would be in time.

- - - - - - - -

Surk rubbed his hands together, grinning viciously as Yukari was bound to the stake.  Yukari held her chin up, but Darvi could see she was terrified.  In the stands, the watching villagers seemed more excited than angry.  Bets were being made on how long they would last.  He supposed it was a sign of favor that the odds on him being killed immediately were long.  Apparently under pressure from the men who ran the arena contests, Surk had agreed that the beast-men fighters would be released into the arena one at a time, rather than all at once, to lengthen the contest.  But it still guaranteed that Darvi would eventually be worn down and killed, and then Yukari would be killed.  He smiled encouragingly at her anyway.  The night before, huddled together against the chill, he had assured her that Van was looking for her and he would not give up.

"Have faith, Yukari," he had whispered into her ear.  "Your father is one of the greatest men in Gaia.  He'll find us and he'll save us."

"Do you really believe that?" In the dark, her frightened eyes had appeared large and luminous.

"Yes, I do."

In the broad light of day, he still believed it, but he worried nonetheless.  The warriors were climbing out of the arena and the first of the fighters dropped over the side onto the sand.  A wolf, he immediately dropped to all fours and began circling Darvi carefully, sizing him up.  He looked like he outweighed Darvi by a stone or more, and he moved with the sure-footed gait of an experienced fighter.  Darvi waited for him to attack first.  He stood far enough away from Yukari to keep her from being accidentally injured, but close enough that he could stay between her and the wolf.  He saw the slight flexing of muscles just before the wolf charged and jumped forward at the same time.  The wolf leaped in the air, trying to clear him.  He was going for Yukari!  Darvi jumped and hit the wolf in the chest with his shoulder, knocking him aside.  The wolf fell heavily, but he rolled over and jumped to his feet immediately.  He charged forward again, but this time, instead of jumping, he dodged to the side, trying to go around Darvi.  Anticipating the move, Darvi jumped at the same time, and this time he landed on the wolf's back.  Grabbing him around the chest, Darvi dug in with his nails and sank his teeth into the back of the wolf's neck.  He bit down hard and jerked his head to the side.  The wolf went limp as his neck broke with a loud snap.

Darvi dropped him and bounded back to stand protectively in front of Yukari, waiting for the next attack.  He only caught a glimpse of the look of horror on her face before another fighter leaped down from the top of the wall.  This man was a bear and he had clearly learned a lesson from the wolf's failure.  He did not try for Yukari, he charged straight at Darvi and tried to catch him in a bone-crushing hug.  Darvi knew better than to let that happen.  He dodged to the side, raking his nails down the bear-man's arm as he went by.  The bear wheeled to face him, not about to let Darvi jump on his back.  He charged more slowly this time, and took a swipe at Darvi as he leaped aside.  The blow caught Darvi across the chest and flayed his skin open.  It also knocked him backward.  Rather than stagger and lose his footing, Darvi rolled with the impact and let it carry him over and back onto his feet.  But the wind was knocked out of him and he gasped, trying to get his breath back.  The bear charged him again, feeling he had the advantage.  Darvi danced away from him, trying to stay out of reach of those slashing front paws and vice-like arms.  If the bear-man closed with him, he would die.

A shadow fell on the arena.  Darvi would not have looked up, but Yukari's cry startled him.  Above them, a white dragon was dropping into the arena.  In the instant he saw it, the bear's arms closed around him, crushing the air from his lungs.  Darvi's vision began to go gray.  Then something massive knocked both him and the bear sprawling and he rolled loose.  Darvi staggered to his feet and stumbled back toward Yukari, ready to protect her from this new threat.  Then his vision cleared and he couldn't believe his eyes.

Escaflowne in dragon form stood in the arena, its tail and wings arching out over the stands, one hand curled protectively around Yukari.  The other held a shining sword pointed toward the one part of the stands not covered by its shadow. 

Van, seated on Escaflowne's back, tossed a knife to Darvi.  "Free Yukari!"

Darvi caught the knife and hurried to obey.  He cut Yukari's bonds and then grabbed her hand as they ran to Escaflowne's side.  He boasted her up to Van's outstretched hand and then climbed up quickly after her.

"Stop them!" Surk screamed from the top of the arena.  "Warriors!  Use your spears!"

But shouts and the sound of fighting elsewhere drew the warriors away.  Clearly, fighting a guymelef with spears seemed foolish to them.  They rushed to face the threat they could deal with.  Surk screamed in inarticulate rage and snatched a spear from a passing warrior.  Leaning back, he heaved it at Escaflowne with all his strength.  The dragon flicked it aside with one hand and then stuck the tip of the sword under Surk's chin.  His eyes went round with fear and rage, but he didn't move.

"I am the King of Fanelia and this is my daughter!" Van shouted angrily.  "Be thankful I choose not to level your village and destroy everyone in it!"

Those people remaining in the stands fell into a hushed silence.

"Blood sports are a crime against all sentient creatures," he continued, glaring around at the cowering villagers.  "I will take it personally if I hear of this practice continuing."  He stared down the length of his sword at Surk.  "You have deserved everything that has happened to you.  Be thankful if nothing worse befalls you."

He moved his hand and Escaflowne put the sword away.  "Hold on," he said and tugged on the reins.  Escaflowne jumped into the sky, the sharp down stroke of its wings knocking people sprawling.  As they climbed high into the sky above the arena, Darvi could see samurai fighting on the edge of the village.  He tapped Yukari's shoulder and pointed.  She looked down and nodded.  She was holding on tight to Van's waist.  Darvi leaned close so he could speak into her ear.

"I told you Van would come for you.  Have I ever been wrong?"

She beamed at him and shook her head.  Then she closed her eyes and leaned against Van's back.

- - - - - - - -

Yukari was so glad to be back with her family that she accepted both hugs and yelling with equal pleasure.  Hitomi certainly seemed torn between weeping and scolding, but she did both while holding Yukari so tightly she could scarcely breathe.  Yukari also accepted that she was pretty much confined to the castle grounds for what would probably be the next several years.  But frankly, she wasn't that interested in going anywhere anyway.  The wide world had turned out to be a pretty dangerous place. 

And it would be a long time before she got over the guilt of what she'd put Darvi through.  The gashes he'd taken from the bear-man during that final fight had festered and he ended up bedridden with a fever for several days.  Although he was tended very carefully, he would always carry the scars.  Darvi said he didn't blame her for it, but neither would he talk about what happened in the village.  But then, whether he blamed her for it or not, she blamed herself.  If not for her foolishness, he would never have been hurt at all.  Yukari decided that, once and for all, it was time for her to grow up and behave responsibly.  She would never again do anything that put Darvi's life at risk.  He was much too important to her.

Of course, she didn't see why behaving responsibly had to include wearing shoes, or not climbing on the roof.  Which was why Darvi found her where he usually did about two moons later: sitting by the chimney on the roof above her bedroom.  A cool fall wind was blowing and she had her bare feet tucked inside her cloak.  He climbed up and sat down next to her, draping his cloak and his arm around her shoulders.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked

"No.  My winter fur is coming in."

"You are so lucky!  I wish I had fur.  I was freezing last night after my fire burned down."

Darvi laughed.  "Why didn't you put on another log?"

"And cross the floor in my bare feet?  Brrr!"  She leaned her head against his shoulder.  "Why don't you sneak into my room tonight and sleep with me?  I'll be warm enough then."

"Yukari…" he warned.

"I know, I know." She sighed. "Mother would have a hissy-fit."

"Somehow," Darvi said with a laugh, "I cannot imagine Queen Hitomi having a hissy-fit.  Now, my mother…"

Yukari snickered.

"I've been wanting to ask you something," Darvi said after a short silence.  "Where were you going?  When you ran away?"

Yukari sat up, feeling a spasm of guilt.  "I was going to the coast.  I thought from there I could find my way to Asturia.  Mother speaks so fondly of Queen Millerna, I thought she would take me in."

"And send you straight back home."

"I thought if I explained, maybe she would let me stay for a while."

"Dammit Yukari!" he snapped, suddenly angry.  "It was ME you ran away from!  The rest of them don't matter.  How could you do that to me?  I've never been so afraid in my life.  Have you no idea how important you are to me?"

Tears sprang into her eyes.  "I'm sorry!  Please don't hate me!"

He put his arms around her and held her tightly.  "I could never hate you.  I've loved you since the day you were born.  But please, please never do this to me again.  We belong together."

She buried her face in the soft fur of his chest.  "I promise," she whispered.  "I won't ever leave you again.  Not ever."

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This is the end of Part 1.

Part 2, which takes place seven years later, starts in the next chapter.