Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon's Future ❯ Trouble Brewing ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 9: Trouble Brewing

The messenger from Freid looked as if he had ridden all the way without stopping. Even the spare horse he was leading drooped as they staggered through the city gate.

“I have a message for King Van from my master, Duke Chid of Freid!” he announced, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

“Darvi! Take him to the King,” ordered Hama, Chief Samurai Sesston's second-in-command.

“Yes sir!” Darvi grasped the messenger's bridle and broke into a brisk trot, leading the tired horse and rider through the city to the castle. He very much wanted to ask the messenger questions, but he held his tongue. In all likelihood, he would find out soon enough. News never stayed secret long in Fanelia.

At this hour, King Van was most likely in the dojo, training with Vulcan and Amano, so Darvi took the messenger straight there. Van was watching Vulcan and Amano spar. Both boys were quite skilled, but Vulcan's advantage in years showed as he disarmed his younger brother with a deft series of attacks. Van applauded as the boys turned to him for his critique.

“Well done! Very well done,” Van said. “Your defense was excellent Amano. Your only mistake was retreating when you should have attacked.” He turned to Vulcan with a smile. “I think there is very little left for me to teach you. You are developing your own style and it is becoming quite devastating. I think it might be time to begin training you in Escaflowne.”

Vulcan's eyes lit up. “Escaflowne? Really?” He grinned at Amano. “That would be fantastic!”

Amano grinned back, excited for his brother.

Van then turned to Darvi. “What is it, Darvi?”

“A messenger from Chid, my lord.”

The messenger stepped forward and held out a folded missive with a bow. Van stepped closer to the window as he broke the seal. As he read the letter his eyebrows lowered into a thoughtful frown.

“How long ago did you leave Freid?” he asked the messenger.

“Eight days, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm.” Van scanned the letter again quickly. “Darvi, please find Sesston and tell him to meet me in my study.” He glanced at the exhausted messenger. “But take this man down to the kitchen first and see that he gets a meal and a bed.”

“Yes, sir.”

Darvi led the man down to the kitchen, still curious to know what was going on, but still holding his tongue. He left the messenger in the care of the head cook and dashed off to look for Sesston in his office in the barracks. Sesston could usually be found there right before dinner, doing some tedious administrative task or other. It never seemed right to Darvi that a samurai of Sesston's impressive abilities and reputation would be content to sit behind a desk, but someone had to do it, and Sesston clearly had an aptitude for it. He also clearly didn't want Lord Kilbrin doing it. There seemed to be a mild rivalry between the two men when it came to managing the kingdom. Van couldn't do everything, and while Kilbrin handled many of the bureaucratic tasks, Sesston considered the security of the kingdom to be his responsibility. Their occasional arguments at dinner had confused and amused Darvi when he was younger. Now that he was old enough to understand, he often wondered how Van put up with it. But, then, that was why Darvi knew he wasn't cut out to be a ruler. He didn't have the patience.

The door to Sesston's office was open, but Darvi stopped outside and knocked anyway.

“Come in, Darvi. What's up?”

“We've had a messenger from Chid, sir. King Van would like you to meet him in his study.”

“Oh, really? Do you know what it's about?”

“No, sir. The messenger had a letter for him.”

“Ah.” Sesston gathered up the papers on his desk and slipped them into a drawer. “I'd better get over there. Your shift was about to end, wasn't it?”

“Yes, but I must go back to the gate to make sure my relief is there.”

Sesston smiled. “Good lad.” He patted Darvi's shoulder. “A lazier man wouldn't bother, and I wouldn't want to put my trust in him.”

Darvi smiled. Earning Sesston's trust was important to him. He was the only man Darvi respected more was King Van himself. He returned to the main city gate to find that his relief had arrived and that the other samurai from his duty shift had already left. So he turned right around and headed back to the castle. He would just have time to wash and dress for dinner. Tonight, he got to have dinner with Yukari. It seemed foolish to be excited about that, but he was. He missed spending time with her. She had always been such an important part of his life, it just didn't feel right going days at a time barely speaking to her. He had not begrudged at all the sleep he'd missed last night so they could talk.

He got ready as quickly as possible and hurried to the dining room to look for her. She was there, not far from the entrance, sandwiched between Lady Deistor and Queen Hitomi. She saw him and bit her lip, an unhappy frown stealing over her face. Obviously, she wasn't sure how to break away from her chaperone.

“We haven't seen you at dinner lately, Darvi,” a sultry voice murmured from beside him.

He winced slightly. Another man might not have found Elaine Turoth annoying, because she was quite pretty, but she got on Darvi's nerves. She had a knack for making Yukari look foolish in front of him. But rather than make him think less of Yukari, it simply awakened his sympathy and made him angry at Elaine.

“I do as my duties require me,” he answered politely. Elaine's father was important, so Darvi was always polite to her, even when she irritated him.

“Of course,” she answered with an elegant smile. “Perhaps you would care to join me?”

Darvi suppressed the urge to groan. “Thank you, but no, Elaine. I have already arranged to dine with Princess Yukari.”

Elaine wrinkled her nose delicately. “But you always dine with the Princess. Surely you would enjoy a change of company?”

“Another time perhaps.” Darvi moved away before she could say anything else. The last thing he wanted was to spend his first evening in the dining room in days with her. He walked boldly across the room to where Yukari stood and offered her and the two ladies with her his best court bow. “Your Majesty. Your Highness. Lady Deistor.”

“Good evening, Darvi,” Hitomi said. “No sentry duty tonight?”

“No, ma'am. I'm off for the rest of the evening. I was hoping to have dinner with Yukari.”

Lady Deistor frowned, but Hitomi smiled. “Of course you may join us, Darvi.”

Darvi offered Yukari his arm. She slipped her hand around his elbow and they walked toward the royal table behind Hitomi and Deistor.

Yukari leaned close and whispered, “What did that cow, Elaine, want?”

“Miss Turoth asked if I would join her for dinner.”

Yukari muttered a very unflattering term for an unmarried maiden under her breath.

Darvi lifted an eyebrow at her. “That is a most un-princess-like thing to say.”

Yukari frowned. “She's always flirting with you,” she muttered darkly. “If it was anyone but her…”

Darvi squeezed her hand where it rested on his arm. “She can flirt all she wants. You're the only one who matters to me.”

Yukari looked up at him and her face flushed. She looked around quickly, as if worried someone might have heard him, and then dropped her eyes. “You always know how to make me feel better,” she whispered.

“Of course,” he whispered back. “I know you better than anyone.” He patted her hand. “So let's not think about the annoying Miss Turoth. I'd much rather think about you.”

She flushed again. “I'd much rather think about you, too,” she said softly.

She did not sit too close to him, as she had threatened to do the night before, but they did whisper to each other enough to earn several disapproving stares from Lady Deistor, and a few jealous looks from Elaine.

At the end of dinner, Van rose and called for everyone's attention.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I've received grave news from Freid of a new religious cult that is causing civil unrest in that country. Duke Chid of Freid has asked for my assistance in suppressing this cult and I plan to provide it. In three days, Chief Assistant Samurai Hama will take a force of two hundred men and ride to Duke Chid's aid. At this time, there is no telling how long the men will be gone. Freid is an important ally of Fanelia, so these forces must be as committed to the protection of that country as they would be to Fanelia. From what Chid wrote, I firmly believe this cult must be wiped out before it spreads beyond Freid. Lives have already been lost, and more are in danger.”

A buzz of excited talk sprang up at the conclusion of his announcement. Fanelia had not been to war since the trouble with the wild men seven years ago, an incident that still caused Yukari untold embarrassment.

“Darvi!” Van called over the chatter. “Hama wants you to accompany him to Freid.”

“Yes, my lord,” Darvi said. He looked at Yukari. Her face was stiff with the effort to not show any emotion. He leaned close and whispered into her ear. “It won't be that long, Yukari.”

She nodded without answering, but she obviously did not believe it. But then, Darvi didn't really believe it either. It seemed as if the whole world was conspiring to find reasons to keep them apart. He sighed. More and more often these days, he found himself wishing that Yukari had not been born a princess.

- - - - - - - -

Yukari sat on the edge of her bed and wept. She knew it was foolish, and probably childish, to be grieving for Darvi when he hadn't even left yet, but she couldn't help herself. The mere thought of him being gone for months on end was too horrible to contemplate, yet she was unable to think about anything else. It wasn't fair. She'd been a model princess for seven years. Now the only thing that made the tedium of her life bearable was being taken away. She and Darvi belonged together. Why was it so hard for her parents to accept that?

Someone knocked softly on her door and Yukari tried to stifle her tears. She dug her handkerchief out of her sleeve and wiped her face, hoping her eyes were not too red nor her face too blotchy.

“Come in!”

Bethany slipped through the door. “Are you all right, Yukari?” she asked. “You looked unhappy after dinner.”

Yukari tried to smile. “I've been better,” she answered sadly. “Why do you suppose Hama wants to take Darvi? There are other samurai with more experience.”

“He's the best,” Bethany said with childlike certainty. “It makes sense.”

“I know.” Yukari sighed. “But that doesn't make me feel any better. I hate not being with Darvi. We need each other.”

“Are you in love?”

Yukari started at the simplicity of the question. Bethany's open face showed honest curiosity. She was too young to really understand the implications of such a question. At least Yukari hoped she was too young. She deserved an honest answer, but Yukari was not sure she could give her one.

“It's not that simple, Beth. Darvi was my companion growing up, but he's not from a noble family. We can be friends, but that's all.”

“That's not an answer.” Bethany's gaze was direct. “I may be young, but I'm not stupid.”

“No, you're not.” Yukari smiled. “All right, I'll say this: I have very deep feelings for Darvi, and I think he has deep feelings for me.”

Bethany made a face. “I could have told you that! Why don't you just say you don't want to answer? Anyway, Papa said he thought the samurai would be gone for half a year or so. That's a pretty long time.”

“Yes it is.” Yukari let out a long, sad sigh. Half a year without Darvi! “I wish I could go with them.”

“Why don't you?”

Yukari shook her head. “Even if there was some slim chance that Mother would permit it, Father would say no, with good reason. Duke Chid asked for military support. He doesn't need some bedraggled princess tagging along.”

“So don't ask them. Just go.”

“What?!” Yukari stared at her. “Have you any idea how much trouble that would cause?”

“It wouldn't be like the last time you ran away, when I was born.” Bethany spoke calmly, as if she were discussing a new dress. “You could be Father's liaison to Duke Chid.”

“Where do you get these ideas?” Yukari asked, dumbfounded. “I can't go to Freid!”

“Of course you can. You can fly there.”

Yukari swallowed. She knew the way to Freid. She had studied all the maps very carefully after her last disastrous trip away from home so she would never get lost like that again. She could conceivably fly to Freid, or at least far enough toward it that Chief Assistant Samurai Hama would not be able to drag her back to Fanelia. I should not be having these thoughts. She looked at Bethany.

“Bethany, I can't go to Freid. Mother and Father would be furious. I would just get Darvi in trouble. It would be wrong.”

“But what do you want to do?” Bethany tipped her head to the side and smiled slightly.

She knows me too well, Yukari thought. “I want to be with Darvi.”

“So go to Freid.”

“Oh, lord!” Yukari dropped her face into her hands. “I am going to be in so much trouble!”

“But you'll be happy.”

Yukari looked up at her little sister's lopsided smile. “Come give me a hug, troublemaker.” She held out her arms and Bethany skipped into her embrace. “All right, I'll go to Freid. But you have to help me.”

Bethany kissed her on the cheek. “This will be fun.”

“For you.” Yukari returned the kiss. “I'm the one who will end up confined to the castle until I have children older than you.”

- - - - - - - -

Most of the samurai were excited about the possibility of fighting in Freid. They were trained to fight, after all, and the relentless peace in Fanelia often left them at loose ends. They spoke eagerly about what might happen and the likelihood of facing tough opponents. It was well-known that Freid no longer supported a standing army, which meant men who might otherwise have placed themselves in the service of the Duke most likely would have turned to careers as mercenaries.

Darvi listened to their talk without really paying attention. His mind was still back at the castle in Fanelia. He couldn't stop thinking about his last conversation with Yukari. She had kissed him goodbye. It had been a very platonic kiss, since she offered it in front of her entire family and half the court, but he couldn't forget it. She had not kissed him since her breasts had begun to grow and her chaperone, Lady Deistor, had firmly decided that all such contact was no longer appropriate. But it wasn't so much the kiss itself that entranced him, it was the memory of her scent. He knew Yukari's scent better than his own, and her scent by itself had the power to awaken all kinds of forbidden thoughts and desires in him. It resonated with suppressed passion and unspoken desire. It was probably just as well that they would be apart for awhile.

Although the messenger from Freid had made it to Fanelia in eight days, it would take their party almost twice that long to return. Although they were making good time, Hama wanted to arrive with both the men and the horses ready to go to work. They rode in a two column formation, with the men at the rear leading the strings of pack animals. The weather was good for travel. It was just coming into full summer, with long days and warm nights. They slept under the stars each night, because it meant less packing up each morning and helped them make better time.

Darvi liked sleeping outdoors. It was not something he got to do often, so he relished the opportunity. The odors of forest and meadow and plowed fields were a welcome change from the stuffy smells of the castle, even the sharp scent of grazing livestock.

As they neared Freid, the land changed from lush forests to scrub brush and rock filled valleys, separated by stony ridges. Without knowing why, Darvi began to feel nervous. He felt as if something were sneaking up on them. He kept scanning the ridgelines above them as they rode through the narrow valleys, unable to put his finger on what was nagging at him.

“Something troubles you, Darvi?” Hama finally asked him.

“It's probably nothing, Sir, but I feel like we're being watched.”

Hama scanned the ridge above them, following Darvi's eyes. “Your instincts have always been good, Darvi. If you feel something is there, something is probably there.” He studied the way ahead of them. The valley descended and widened, and the ridges to either side flattened out. A river cut through the ridge on the right, where the valley they were following joined with another, and made a wide curve through the middle of their valley. Hama pointed. “We'll make camp on the far side of the river. We'll have good sight lines, should anyone care to approach us.”

The river was shallow and they forded it without difficulty. A cluster of trees on the far bank afforded them some shelter and wood for fires. Hama posted sentries and the remaining samurai set up camp and started preparing food.

Sitting on the ground with a plate of beans and rice, Darvi tried to ignore the tickle at the back of his mind that said something wasn't quite right. His friend Petran, who had entered Van's service at the same time as Darvi, kept glancing at him as he wolfed down his own food.

“You still feeling twitchy, Darvi?” he asked as he shoved the last spoonful of food into his mouth.

“A little. I just don't know why. It's really irritating.” Darvi ate his own food more slowly. “I wish it would go away.”

“Maybe it's beast-men refugees. Didn't Lord Van say they were being driven out of their homes?”

“Yes, he did. I suppose it could be that. I could certainly understand them avoiding a large armed force like us.”

The nagging feeling persisted long after they had bedded down for the night and Darvi finally gave up any hope of going to sleep. He rolled up his blankets and went to the head watchman to volunteer to take the next shift on sentry duty.

“Can't sleep?”

“No, so I thought I may as well let someone else get some rest.”

“Fair enough. Take Adrid's place. He's been refusing to admit he's sick for the last three days anyway.”

Away from the camp, with the fresh night breeze filling his nostrils, the sense that he was being watched became very strong. Darvi scanned the area with his eyes and his nose, trying to pinpoint the source of the feeling. A sudden flicker of a shadow against the sky made him look up and he stared in shock. He recognized the wide flare of white wings that glowed in the moonlight. Suddenly, the nagging feeling made complete sense. It was Yukari. His awareness of her had been confused by the knowledge that she couldn't be anywhere nearby. Except that she was right there in the sky above him, angling in for a landing beside him!

As she touched down lightly a short distance away, Darvi had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting at her. He closed the distance between them in two long bounds.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, keeping his voice quiet despite his shock.

“I decided to come with you,” she replied calmly.

“Come with me?” Darvi nearly choked on the words. “Have you any idea how angry your parents will be?” He pointed back toward the encampment. “Hama will be furious!”

She smiled and shrugged. “Does it matter? It's too late now. I'm already here and you're too far from Fanelia to take me back.”

Darvi made a strangling noise as he fought the urge to scream at her. “Have you completely lost your mind?”

“Only where you're concerned.” She tipped her head to one side and grinned at him.

Darvi scrubbed a hand over his face. “I'd better take you to Hama. We may as well get the screaming over with right away.”

The sleepy-eyed samurai watched with amusement as Hama wavered between screaming at Yukari like she was an errant samurai and addressing her with the stern politeness more befitting her rank. She accepted his chastisement without protest, but with a slight smile on her face.

“Your Highness,” Hama finally concluded, “you must realize that I cannot spare anyone to escort you back to Fanelia, but neither can I allow you to return on your own. It is bad enough that you came this far by yourself.” He frowned at her sternly. “You will have to accompany us to Freid, where I will place you into the protection and care of the Duke. I expect you to behave yourself until then and afterward.”

“Of course, Chief Assistant Samurai Hama,” she replied obediently.

Hama looked at Darvi. “Darvi, as you have been the princess' companion before, I place her in your charge until we can turn her over to Duke Chid.”

Darvi saluted. “Yes, Sir.” He glared at Yukari. “And I can assure you that she will be a model of obedient behavior.”

Yukari smiled. “I promise not to cause any more trouble.”

“Where have I heard that before?” Darvi grumbled.