Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ In The Arms of the Angel ❯ I'm So Tired ( Chapter 1 )

I've had this story stewing in my brain for a long time now, but I try to only ever write two stories at a time. Well, I can't work on one of them right now because the hard copy is across the country and fanfiction.net is totally down, but I can do this, so we'll call it a trade off.

You know, I should learn to concentrate on one anime at a time. I'm so bad. But at least I do a relatively good job of always finishing what I start, so yeah, you can count on me. If I write a story with a real plot, I'll finish it. It may take forever and then some, but oh, I'll finish it. This particular story contains spoilers...um...yeah, probably. I don't know! It takes place after the series, so we'll just say it spoils all of Escaflowne, because that way I won't get people saying I spoiled something on accident. But really, if you haven't watched all of that series yet and are reading fanfiction, you're either like my friend Agent Kodama who tries to get spoilers by reading such stuff because she is forever traumatized by the time I "tricked her into watching Fushigi Yuugi while failing to mention that it makes you cry!" and therefore doesn't like to watch anime blind, or you're just silly. It's only 26 episodes, and it is one of my favorite animes of all time. It's super duper! Watch it! Yee! Okay, enough for my one woman ad-campaign, on with the story.

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In The Arms of The Angel

Part 1

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I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

-Sarah McLachlan I Will Remember You

"I'm heading home now, alright?" Hitomi peeked into the eternally open door of her superior, the woman who had mentored her when she first came to this advertising firm. "My eyes are about to fall out."

"That's what you get for staying up all night." the woman shook her head at Hitomi. "Ms. Kanzaki, how many times have I told you that if you have coffee at five in the evening, it will keep you up much later than any human should be awake." The woman's lips were as tight as the perfect French twist that held back her auburn hair, but Hitomi had seen this look on her face before and she knew that it wasn't meant to be as scary as an unknowing onlooker might find it to be.

"I know, Mrs. Ashman, but you see, I'm suffering from jet lag. It's so hard for me to know what time of day it should be." Hitomi tried to look serious, but she couldn't hide the smile the act brought to her lips.

"Hitomi, that excuse might be more viable a few months ago, but you know that jet lag doesn't last that long, no matter how far away Japan is." the woman chuckled slightly, rolling her eyes.

"I know it, Lydia, but you haven't taught me how to lie yet." Hitomi pointed out.

"You're supposed to learn that in school, you know that." Lydia shot back. "Now get out of here, you sloth. And remember, I need that report on the Johnson firm by Friday."

"I'll have it to you on Wednesday." Hitomi called over her shoulder as she left, heading out into the streets of New York, the city she had called home for the last three months.

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"You have two new messages." the mechanical voice inside Hitomi's answering machine informed her before she hit the play button and heading to her tiny kitchen for some tea. "Message one, 10:24 a.m." a bored sounding man's voice came in after this "Hello, Ms. Kanzaki, I'm with Sprint Wireless, and I was calling to ask you if you've considered a new long distance plan that is strongly--"

"No thanks." Hitomi told the machine as she skipped the message and waited for the next one. It was another salesperson, so she deleted both messages before finishing her cup of tea and sitting in front of her laptop computer to work on the report she had promised to finish by tomorrow. "I wish a human would call me." she sighed quietly before cracking her neck and losing herself in the distant professionalism of her work. She loved to work because it made her forget that she had the most pathetic social life of any New Yorker she'd ever met.

Hitomi had been relatively popular in junior high, and even though her best friend Yukari had slowly cut off from her as she became more involved and devoted to her boyfriend Amano, Hitomi had never felt as alone as she did in her new home. The distance from her home had only shown her beyond the shadow of a doubt that all the friends she had at home were mere acquaintances who didn't bother with contacting someone so far away. Hitomi had lost all contact with Yukari and Amano when she went to college, but she had heard that the two of them had been married. It was strange how the distance between people could grow so much that the girl who was once her best friend hadn't even thought of inviting her to such an important occasion.

Perhaps she was simply too worn out to try to maintain such relationships. Hitomi didn't like to think of her time on Gaea when she was only a teenager, but she knew that even if she ignored the strange and fantastic memories of that faraway place that could be reached only by deep emotions, it had forever changed who she was. She remembered when she used to tell girls fortunes as a game, but the fun had disappeared after the terror of war on Gaea. It had forced her to grow up as well, making her realize that Yukari loved Amano more than she ever could, making her face the tragic realities of death and war and heartbreak. For a while, Hitomi had tried to forget those times by going out with boy after boy, hoping that she would not think of the boy with the flaming eyes and the wings of an angel. But no matter how many boys she kissed and held and tried to love, she could not forget Van Fanel. She could not forget Gaea, or the people she had met there, the things she had learned and seen, or the life she had left behind. And no matter how useless it was, when Hitomi was lonely or sad or particularly aware of how much she missed all that, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had chosen Gaea over her home.

Maybe Gaea was meant to be my home. She thought aimlessly, realizing she wasn't getting any work done as she went to the kitchen for another cup of tea. I never did a reading on it because I was afraid of living in a world where I was needed, a world where I knew I would be missed if I left. Not like here.

"As long as I'm in your heart, we're never really separated, right?" Van's voice echoed in her head.

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"Lord Van! Are you ready?" Merle entered the king's chambers with barely a knock of warning, but she knew it didn't bother him. She was the only family he'd had for a long time. "I'm so excited!"

"It's very important, isn't it, Merle?" Van couldn't help but smile at his retainer, his friend, his sister. "This meeting will help to secure a lasting peace between all the people of Gaea. But somehow, I feel as though you're only excited to see our old friends."

"You know you want to see Allen and the others again too, you hypocrite." Merle narrowed her eyes and straightened her back, for once acting like the full grown woman that she was. "It's been too long."

"It has." Van's voice was small and sad, and Merle winced at the sound.

"She won't be there no matter how much you miss her, Lord Van." Merle placed a sympathetic hand on his back. "You shouldn't have let her go, you know."

"I know." Van touched his formal robes, feeling the small bump under the cloth over his chest. He always kept Hitomi's pendant close to his heart. "And now all of Fanelia is clamoring for me to find a queen so that I might give them an heir. I did this to myself, I suppose. They march women before me, and yet none of them sparks my interest. I only want her."

"Very romantic, Lord Van, but you must realize that you can't live forever." Merle told him, acting as though she was older and wiser than him. "What will happen to your people when you leave them?"

"I don't know, Merle. I'm hoping that by the time I die, they'll have no need for a king." Van told her, letting her needlessly straighten his robes before hustling him out of his chambers and down toward the carriage that waited to take them both to meet with Allen Schezar, who would be escorting them to this peace summit.

"I think you should make someone else take your place. Like Lord Dryden or even Lord Allen." Merle joked. "At least Allen would have no problem producing an heir. He could produce a country full of them. Maybe you should borrow one of his children."

"Very funny, Merle." Van shook his head. "If only Allen knew you said such wicked things about him. He always thought you were such a sweet and innocent young thing." they both laughed as they exited the palace, walking casually to the carriage with an armed escort.

"Don't tell him any differently or he'll be after me next." Merle warned Van, giggling at the idea of the infamous playboy chasing after her.

"I don't think--" Van was cut off as one of his guards suddenly fell to the ground, an arrow coming out of his chest. At that moment, chaos broke loose as arrows rained on them from various directions. Van immediately scooped up Merle, shielding her body with his own as he cursed his stupid complacence at leaving his sword in his chambers. Grasping about, he found one in the belt of a dead guard, his eyes flashing and ready for battle as he tried to get Merle to the safety of the castle while she kicked and protested at his protection.

"There's so many!" one of Van's guards yelled right before he was riddled with arrows and fell to the ground.

"Let me go!" Merle growled, struggling in his grasp. "I'm not the one they're after!"

"They'll kill you too." Van hissed, jumping over a dead body before almost falling over as Merle's struggles caused her to accidentally punched him in the throat.

"Sorry!" she gasped as he stumbled. "I didn't mean...Lord Van?" Merle suddenly realized that his eyes had gone glassy. "I didn't hit you that hard, did I?" Merle yelped as she was dropped to the ground right before Van collapsed on top of her, two arrows embedded in his back. "Lord Van!" she cried out, struggling to get out from under him as he gurgled blood. He held her down as three more arrows hit home.

"Stay...Merle...too late...at least...I can protect you..." he gasped as another pair of arrows hit him. Van could barely feel the pain of the arrows in him, his whole body was going numb slowly. Merle's screams faded from his hearing as he slowly closed his eyes, witnessing a flash of images so fast that all he retained was the impression of his life flashing before him. "I'm dying." he gasped, sounding surprised that after all he'd been through, he was finally leaving this world and moving to the next.

"No! You won't die! You can't!" Merle continued to struggle under him as arrows continued to hit their target with a ruthless repetition. Van barely heard her as he focused his thoughts on his regrets, finally settling on a memory of hugging Hitomi before she left.

"I wanted...to protect her...I still...do." he rasped to no one in particular, his hand trembling madly as he struggled to grasp his only piece of the girl that had meant so much to him. As his breathing slowed, he felt the warmth of the pendant in his palm, so small and yet so important to him. Merle began to sob as he began to go cold, his heart beating slower and slower until it stopped, and still the arrows rained down.

"Stop it! He's dead! Just stop!" she screamed from under her shield of his corpse. "Please stop!" And still the arrows rained down.

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Hitomi screamed into the night, struggling in a tangle of sheets, trying to escape the horrible dream she'd just woken from. She hated nightmares, especially since they usually ended up coming true to at least some extent. It was the last bit of fortune telling that she unwittingly retained, and she couldn't escape it. The worst had been when she had dreamed of her mother dying in a traffic accident two days before it happened. She still felt guilty for not warning her, only hoping that the power of her hope could save her. It had not worked, and it only left her feeling like she could have stopped the accident if she'd had more faith in her visions.

But this nightmare...perhaps it was only because she'd been thinking of her time on Gaea before she fell asleep, but perhaps not. What if Van really would be killed like that, soaking Merle's body in his blood as he was riddled with arrows? Hitomi sobbed raggedly at the images burned into her memory as she shakily got out of bed for a glass of water to calm her down. The dream had been so terrible, and so real all at once. What if Van was already dead?

"You're being stupid, Hitomi. Nothing can kill Van, remember?" Hitomi told herself, forcing herself to recall images of a terribly injured boy who recovered miraculously again and again. "Nothing can...nothing." she repeated in a heated whisper, gulping down her water before returning to bed. Maybe now she could sleep in peace.

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The End (Of Part 1, That Is)