Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon's Future ❯ Uprising ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 12: Uprising

“What do you mean you don't know where is?!” Darvi exclaimed. Mirabel cringed away from him and he made a conscious effort to moderate his tone. “When did you last see her?” he asked more quietly.

“This afternoon at the refugee camp. We took them some supplies and the princess wanted to stay a little longer to play with the children.”

Darvi clenched his fists and Mirabel cringed again.

“You didn't wait for her?” Darvi growled.

“We were afraid to stay! She said she would have some of the beast-men walk her back before dark.”

“It's dark now!” Darvi shouted, gesturing angrily at the closed shutters and lit torches in Yukari's sitting room, where they were standing.

Mirabel burst into tears. “Her highness said we didn't have to wait!” she wailed.

“You should have told someone!” Darvi snapped, no longer caring how much he upset her. “Yukari might be in danger!” He stormed out of the room and sprinted for the main hall. Halfway there, he overtook Allen and Gaddes. “Allen!” Darvi called. “Yukari went out this afternoon and hasn't come back!”

“What?!”

“I was just talking to one of the girls who went with her. The fools came back without her.”

“Dammit!” Allen snarled. “How long ago was that?”

“Before sunset. Apparently, Yukari told them she'd get the beast-men to walk her back.”

“What was she thinking?!” Allen exclaimed. “Has she no idea we're at war? Gaddes, go round up the men. Darvi, you'd better go find Hama and get the samurai. I'll tell Chid. We'll meet in the courtyard in ten minutes.” He raced off toward Chid's audience hall.

Darvi sprinted for the barracks where the samurai were staying. He found Hama standing out front, talking with a handful of samurai.

“Hama!” Darvi shouted as he slid to a halt in front of him. “Princess Yukari is missing!”

Hama's startled look was quickly replaced by one of stern professionalism. “Report!”

Darvi came to attention. “She and her maidens took supplies to the refugee camp this afternoon. The maidens returned but Yukari remained behind. She was supposed to return before dark with a beast-man escort, but no one has seen her.”

Hama frowned. “Petran, go find out if any beast-men have entered the castle.”

“Yes, sir!” Petran dashed off.

“Allen Schezar has gone to inform Duke Chid,” Darvi continued. “The Asturians are to meet us in the courtyard in a few minutes.”

“Good,” Hama nodded. “We'll go to the refugee camp first. She might still be there.”

“I have a bad feeling, sir.” Darvi shifted his weight nervously. “I think Yukari is in trouble.”

Hama studied his face. “Your bond with the princess has proven itself before.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well. You'll take the lead when we set out. But be careful.” Hama loosened his sword in its sheath. “There's going to be bloodshed tonight.”

Darvi nodded in agreement. The nagging feeling that Yukari was afraid gnawed at him, but at least that meant she was still alive.

Petran returned from the gate. “Sir! No beast-men have sought admittance to the castle today.”

“All right. Given Darvi's intuition, we must assume something befell the princess and her escort,” Hama said. “We will approach this situation like we are entering hostile territory. Form ranks!”

The call was echoed into the barracks and the samurai spilled out, forming quickly into neat rows.

“Gentlemen!” Hama called loudly to bring them to full attention. “Princess Yukari has been kidnapped and we are going into battle. Make no assumptions about who is or is not an enemy. Order anyone you see indoors. If they fail to obey, attack. If you encounter resistance, show no mercy. We are outnumbered and we don't know the princess's situation. Decisive action is called for. We cannot lose this city to fanatics.”

Allen appeared next to Hama. “Those are good instructions. Please repeat them to my men.” He pointed to where the Asturians were collecting in a somewhat untidy group.

Hama nodded. “Of course.” He hooked a thumb at Darvi. “Darvi here can lead us to Yukari. He'll be taking point.”

“Very good.”

Hama trotted over to repeat his instructions to the Asturians.

Allen looked inquisitively at Darvi. “Can you tell where she is right now?”

“In general,” Darvi nodded. “Mostly, I can tell how she's feeling and what direction she's in from here.”

“So we know she's alive and more or less uninjured.”

“Yes.”

“That's something.” Allen frowned. “What troubles me is why she was taken. Why choose her out of all the maidens from the castle who were tending the refugees?”

“Opportunity?” Darvi wondered. “She was alone.”

“True.”

“And she loved to play with the children,” Darvi added. “Anyone watching would certainly have seen her sympathy and affection for the beast-men.”

“Also a good point. Given what we've heard of that so-called priest's teachings, Yukari would make a good example of a human to be hated.”

Darvi bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet. “We need to get going. I need to find Yukari.” Being apart from her was bad enough, but knowing she was in danger and feeling her fear made it nearly intolerable.

Hama returned leading the Asturians.

“I told Chid to hold his men here and keep the castle secure,” Allen told them. “If we have to retreat, we need a safe base where we can fall back.”

“Good idea,” Hama agreed. “Let's form up.”

The company took positions and moved out, with Darvi and the samurai taking the lead.

It was a relief to finally be moving. Darvi let the tug of his link to Yukari guide him. But when it became clear it was not leading him toward the refugee camp, Darvi stopped. “She's not at the refugee camp,” he told Hama. He pointed off toward the right. “Yukari is that way. The refugee camp is south of here.”

Allen joined them. “What's up?”

“Darvi says Yukari is not at the refugee camp.”

“I would rather not split our forces,” Allen said with a frown.

“I agree…” Hama began, but he never finished the thought. A sudden outburst of screams and the sound of fighting snapped everyone's attention to the south. “The refugees are under attack!” he exclaimed. “Allen, take your men and half of mine to aid the refugees. The rest of us will follow Darvi to Yukari.”

“Right!”

The soldiers separated into two groups and Allen's forces headed south at a brisk trot. Darvi immediately set out in Yukari's direction, leading the remaining men. He felt a sudden sense of urgency. The attack on the beast-men was leading up to something. He was sure of it.

- - - - - - - - -

Brevan was oddly titillated by the young woman's attraction to a beast-man. Unfortunately, he had not kept his interest well enough hidden, and Zatia's jealousy prevented him from being able to act on his curiosity. Zatia took it upon herself to act as the young woman's guard, and she remained at all times outside the locked door of the room where they were holding her. It annoyed Brevan. Zatia was definitely getting above her place. She was becoming much too possessive. But, she still had her uses, so he chose to do nothing about it right now. There would be time enough later to remind Zatia of her real value to him.

In the meantime, he had work to do. His followers were gathering people together so Brevan could make a speech. He couldn't manage too large of a crowd at once, but he wanted enough people to create a mob of sufficient size to wipe out the beast-man presence in this city. He could hear the crowd forming outside now. The inn they had commandeered was half a block down from a large intersection. Brevan had instructed his people to construct a small platform on the nearest corner so he could address the assembly.

Nighttime was always best for this kind of work. One could easily inspire men to commit acts at night that they would never even consider in the rational light of day.

“We are ready, Master.” The young man bowed deeply as he addressed Brevan.

“Very well.” Brevan rose and let his escort of tough young men fall in around him. The mob was already primed to hear his words, judging by the wave of excitement that swept through it at his appearance. His escort cleared a path for him and Brevan made his way to the platform. As he mounted the narrow steps, his thugs formed a protective perimeter around him and the platform, pushing the crowd back.

Brevan raised his hands and the crowd almost instantly fell silent.

“My children,” he intoned gravely, “you are surrounded by evil. Beasts in the guise of men walk among you. I have shown you the plain danger: the beast-men who crave to be your equals by dragging you down. But there is a more insidious evil of which I have only just learned. I have in my possession a woman who hungers to meld her flesh with that of a beast-man. This whore of a woman desires to corrupt her pure human flesh with the seed of a beast.”

A low, animal growl began to rise from the assembly. Brevan had to hide his smile.

“We cannot allow this corruption, my children! Where one leads, others may follow.”

“Burn her!” someone shouted and Brevan could barely contain his delight.

“Should we not show mercy for one who may just be misguided?” He said the words, but his tone and his mental goading of their emotional state drove them in the other direction.

“No!” several people shouted.

“She must be purged from our midst!” someone cried.

“Burn her! Burn her!” the chant rose up.

Brevan let their hatred build, feeding it with the power of his mind. Then he raised his hands to quiet them again.

“We must purge both threats!” he cried. “The beast-men and this evil woman! Go, my children! Drive the beast-men from the city!” He pointed down a street at random and the crowd began to flood away.

“But what of the woman?!” a man close to the platform cried.

“We will tend to her as well,” Brevan said. “Bring wood and kindling. We will burn her on this very platform.”

A cheer went up and Brevan smiled as he stepped down. This night was going exactly as he'd planned.

- - - - - - - -

The samurai were fighting for their lives. A mob that easily outnumbered them four-to-one had them pinned against the side of a building.

“We have to get out of here or we'll be slaughtered!” Hama cried. “There are fewer of them on the right. We'll make a push through there. If we can break free, we'll make a run for the castle.”

“But that's away from Yukari!” Darvi exclaimed.

“We can't help her if we're wiped out!” Hama replied grimly. He issued orders and the samurai formed a wedge.

Had the mob been a trained military force, the tactic would have failed, but the samurai were facing mostly farmers and laborers. They hacked their way into the poorly equipped fighters and cut a path through them. They broke free and immediately turned to fight a rearguard action as they retreated toward the castle. At the first cross-street, Darvi darted away. His presence would not guarantee one way or the other that the samurai would get away. But even if it did, he could not leave Yukari in these people's hands.

He sprinted through the streets, desperate to reach Yukari. The feeling of impending doom in his gut made him reckless. He rounded a corner and saw people gathered in the street at the next intersection. A makeshift stage was set up on one side of the street. A large wooden pole was being hammered into place in the center of the raised platform as people passed forward bales of hay and chunks of firewood to pack underneath and around the platform.

They were getting ready to burn someone at the stake! The sick feeling in his gut turned to certainty. Darvi ran toward them without thinking.

A woman turned around and saw him. She shouted and pointed, and several people immediately charged toward him. Darvi lifted his sword and slashed the first person to reach him. He cut his way through without any regard for the damage he was doing, but it was not enough. More and more people rushed him. With fanatical zeal, they threw themselves on his sword arm and dragged him to the ground. Hands clawed at him and feet kicked him.

“Stop!” a voice thundered sternly. “Hold him!”

Hands clutched at Darvi's limbs and pinned him to the ground. The crowd parted and a man in a priest's robe approached. He leaned over Darvi with a cruel smile on his face and touched his fingers to Darvi's forehead. Darvi squirmed at the uncomfortable sensation of having someone rummage through his thoughts. The priest's smile turned vicious.

“So you're the one!” he whispered. “Come to rescue your mate, no doubt. Well, now you can die with her.” Darvi snarled as the priest straightened up. “Bring him!” the priest commanded. “We will burn them together.”

The crowd's bloodthirsty cheer sickened Darvi. It reminded him of the arena. He was dragged to his feet and shoved brutally toward the platform. He knew Yukari was there before he saw her. As he was forced around the platform toward a rickety set of steps, Yukari was led from a building just down the street. Her eyes fell on him and he saw her smile. The sense of her presence filled him. She wasn't afraid anymore.

“Do you find her beautiful, beast-man?” The priest stood at his elbow. He smelled of lust. “It is a sin for her to waste her affection on one such as you.”

Darvi didn't answer. As Yukari reached them, the priest leered at her.

“My dear child,” he said, “these good people have decreed you should burn for your filthy lust.”

Yukari's eyes narrowed angrily.

“But,” the priest continued, “perhaps I can convince them to spare you, in exchange for burning this abominable creature who seduced you into sin.” He gestured at Darvi.

Yukari lifted her chin defiantly. “I would rather die with him.”

The priest stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. “Think about it carefully, my child. This creature is not a man. You are a woman of refinement. You would do well to align yourself with someone of your own kind.” He leaned closer and the scent of his lust increased. “Someone with power.”

Darvi growled. “Who is the true beast here?” he snarled softly.

The priest glared at him. Darvi felt for a moment as if his mind was being pressured, but then he met Yukari's eyes and the feeling passed. She stepped past the priest to Darvi's side.

“I belong with him,” she said calmly, “so burn us together or not at all.”

“If that is what you wish,” the priest growled. He waved a hand and several young men hustled them up the steps onto the platform. Darvi and Yukari were bound against the stake back-to-back, tied together at the wrists. It struck Darvi as a very unprofessional job.

“I knew you'd come for me,” Yukari said.

“Yes, but I had intended to rescue you. I seem to have messed up somewhere.”

Their captors climbed down and the priest stepped forward.

“This is your last chance, my child.”

“Oh, shut up!” Yukari snapped. She spoke over her shoulder to Darvi. “Can you get us loose?”

“Probably, but we'll never get away.”

“Of course we will. We'll fly.”

Darvi was stunned. Of course! Yukari could fly away if he got her free.

“Put your hands behind the post,” he said.

“One condition, Darvi.”

A torch was thrust into the hay bales under their feet.

“There's no time for that, Yukari! Do as I say!”

“I can carry you,” she said. “But you have to hold on.”

“Yukari, don't be foolish! You can't carry me!”

“I'm not leaving without you, Darvi. Promise me you'll hold on, no matter what, or we both die here.”

Darvi was panicked. Flames were licking up around the platform. Soon it would start to burn. It was already chokingly hot.

“I promise!” He felt her hands shift position and the rope go slack. He gripped the rope around his left wrist with his right hand, jabbed his claws into it and tore with all his strength. Several strands of the rope parted. Darvi shifted his grip on the remaining strands and jerked on the rope. It snapped.

Yukari immediately spun to face him. Darvi turned toward her and she grabbed his left arm and put it around her neck. She pulled his right hand up to her shoulder. “Jump with me and then put your legs around my waist.” She stared into his eyes. “Don't let go.” And she put her wings out.

They jumped together. The hard down stroke of her wings buffeted him, but Darvi held on. He had made her a promise and he wouldn't break it, even if it cost them their lives.

The cries of shock and consternation from the crowd were nearly drowned out by the rush of wind from Yukari's wings.

“A draconian!”

“She's a draconian!”

“A draconian is saving the beast-man!”

The fear and astonishment in those cries delighted Darvi. Let them be afraid.

Despite his weight, Yukari gained altitude rapidly. Her breathing was labored though, which told Darvi carrying him was a strain.

“Are you all right?” he called out.

“We'll make it,” she cried back. “I'm tired of people thinking I can't take care of myself!”

Darvi grinned. After this, he doubted anyone would ever think that of her again.