Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Memories ❯ The Rule Of Heaven ( Chapter 6 )

Memoirs Of The Heart: part 6

Note; when you see the word 'flash' it means that Hitomi is having a vision. In this story, Allen sometimes has them as well. The plot will unfold later as the story goes on. Sit back and enjoy!

It had been a long, and somewhat stressful day. When Allen had reached the castle gates, the palace guards whisked him away. As soon as he stepped inside the grand room, Queen Millerna was standing outside on the balcony, the moonlight outlining her silhouette. She knew he would be aching to hold her, and that this plan won't fail. But she was wrong, for Allen just stood there, keeping a few metres distance between them. It annoyed her, but she managed to stay calm, and reassured herself that he would be putty in his hand very soon.

"Allen," She cooed with the softest voice she could manage. "You are to have a new post starting from tomorrow; but…" Millerna was COVINCED it would work; she smiled, keeping eye contact, saying;

"…but only if you would be my "personal" bodyguard, meaning you will be by my side, for every day, and for every night to come. We will never lose sight of each other, and if anyone objects, then they will be beheaded at once. Dryden doesn't know yet, and even if he does," He was shocked at what she said next, because even Marlene didn't dare, to attempt this. Yet he was hearing it from his queen;

" I won't care if you're with me." She purred; Millerna still loved him, even though she was now re-married to Dryden. After the Asturian royals had separated, Dryden came back after only three years of being away from Millerna; everyone was convinced he had changed into a better man. And he did. His knowledge of the world expanded way beyond money related matters, and he even knew quite a lot about Austria itself, baffling the advisors as they competed with each others intellect. So, seeing as he changed for the better, and not having seen Allen since the end of the Great War four years ago, her memory of him was starting to fade. Dryden fitted into her empty love life easily, and the only question was did she still love the Knight Caeli? They all thought not, as the royal couple seemed so happy together, but then again, they also didn't know every depth of a woman's heart. A part of it still belonged to Allen, though he didn't realise it, he soon found out. Millerna did love Dryden, but only before she saw Allen. Once she set her eyes on him again, old feelings were awakened.

Since she inherited everything about her oldest sister when she was alive; like her beauty, personality, and charm, did that also include Marlene's taste in men? And what she was prepared to do for them as well? Marlene may not have had the options Millerna has, which probably explains why she got betrothed to the Duke of Freid; but for Millerna, things are different - purely because she is queen, and without her father, King Aston around, she was as free as a bird to do as she pleased. Now another chance came, another opportunity to do what she could not do before, it questioned Millerna's loyalty to her husband.

Allen always dreamt of returning to Asturia, his home country. Although living on the boarders of Asturia and Fanelia suited him well, the chance of being able to live in his native country is quite different indeed. His only worry was Celena, about how the move might affect her; she was doing well, considering what she's been through in the past, and Allen took her to some parties and fairs so she could make friends of her own age, as he imagined she didn't want to spent the rest of her life living with him. For the time being, yes, but not forever. Plus, Celena would soon have to marry, and Allen had the task of choosing a husband for her as well; who knows? She might even already have a suitor. So with a proposition like this, what was he going to do? Suddenly, he caught sight of a woman with violet hair that shimmered like the night; tears were in her eyes, her face strained with utmost pain, and she screamed;

"NOOO! PLEASE, SPARE HIM! IT'S ME YOU WANT!!" Now she was sobbing, and was tied back to a wooden post, still struggling to get free. It was raining fast and furiously, the raindrops hitting them hard like small stones. Broken and burning houses could be seen in the background, and the rain drenchened her through. It was like the aftermath of the Great War; burning fires were wide spread everywhere. A man wearing a cloak, was standing opposite her, and asked her fiercely;

"Do you love him?…" Silence would not save them now. No, it's pointless to even try to escape, for she would be killed instantly. Staring at the floor, she began to shake…then she looked at him straight in the eye, full of sheer defiance, and answered him.

Sans Departir…

"Yes…I do love-"

Just as suddenly as he saw it, the image disappeared. Seeing that woman like that made him want to help her so desperately, knowing that she was in fatal danger, that he failed to notice how close Millerna was to his face, and if she moved her head closer, they would be kissing - snapping to his senses at once, he said;

"Please excuse me, your majesty, for being so rude." If she hadn't saw how blank his face was just now, his deeply smooth voice would have taken her breath away and would have distracted her so easily. In the past, every woman who spoke to him loved him instantly with all their being, because his voice was so enchanting; going through you, and taking over you. For those who know him well, and only a few do, would probably say it's the gods way of the give and take principle; getting what you give. In this case, his father left his family for an unknowing fruitless quest for treasure, even though they were nobles, and haven't the need for treasures anyway; then it's the mysterious disappearance of his beloved little sister, the grief causing Encia, his mother, to waste away. Being deserted by Leon was bad enough, and with time he had learnt how to cope in his father's absence, which no one knew how long it would last. With just Encia and Celena, and money wasn't an issue, life was going well for the Schezar family. But then the women of his family were forcibly taken away from him in cruel ways, and he couldn't do anything about either of the situations. No one could. Too suddenly he found himself living on the streets of Asturia.

Without a home nor money, the gods gave him their biggest blow; but the deepest hurt was yet to come - in the form of Princess Marlene. What first started out as a friendly welcome, soon snowballed into a forbidden love affair, one that was to scar Asturia's royal family forever. They loved each other more than words could say, but they couldn't be together, for she became betrothed to a Duke, and everyone knew that a Knight simply could not compete with a Duke. This was Gaea's version of Earth's famous star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Instead of dying with her, Allen lived to bear the burden of losing the one he cherished, and of seeing her being married to another man. And to replace what the god's give and take principle took from him, he was blessed with an irresistible charm that will win him EVERY, woman's heart - with ease. Guaranteed. Since the visions of the violet haired woman keep haunting the Knight Caeli, and jogging his memory of the past at the same time, he too was beginning to believe what those who know him said about the god's principle.

Awaiting for an answer, Millerna was getting impatient. Growing suspicious and jealous, she asked him; "Allen, who is Shiden? You murmured that name…. who is it?" Jealous he didn't murmur her name, Millerna hoped, for his sake, it wasn't a woman, because if it was, there will be hell to pay. She may be the youngest in the Aston line, she may even be queen, but in our lives, envy grasps hold of us all at one time or another. And it was showing. Or was it?

"I… don't know, highness." He looked blanked, yet Millerna still had her suspicions about what just happened. So she decided to make sure by asking him that question;

"Allen…do you -"

Allen made his excuses after listening to his Queen's little announcement and answering her questions, and left before anything else could happen.

"What's wrong with me?" He thought. I know that I 'thought' I loved Millerna, but I realise that it's because of her uncanny resemblance to Marlene, so that can't be it. And who is that girl who keeps invading my dreams? (She looks so mysterious - there's something about her) I feel that I've known her forever, and like I should know her from a past lifetime or something like that...but I've never met this woman before in my life.

Walking back to his resting quarters, he was beginning to feel uncomfortable with this situation, and Allen was confused, wondering what the images he kept seeing meant, if anything. Upon passing the marble pillars, the moonlight seeping in between them cast divided shadows, which was exactly how he felt right now. He also felt a strong connection to that woman in his visions, but didn't know or understand why. His heart seemed to leap every time he thought of her.

Sans Departir…

Opening the door to his room, he had another image; Flash. This time, the burning houses were gone, and he saw a cliff top, overlooking a valley; Allen found himself looking into a pair of emerald green eyes, which he thought by instinct should be sparkling with life and vitality - but instead were stained by tears of pain and despair, and she looked so sad, it's as if she were pleading for forgiveness. Her wind swept hair danced around her, giving this woman an alluring aura. Stepping inside, his pet owl was sat on its usual perch, watching him, cocking its head to one side. His thoughts were still attached to this 'mysterious' woman, even when he closed his eyes to rest for the day ahead.

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"I've got to find them! Where are they?!" Hitomi was beginning to get very, very stressed out now, not only cause she doesn't know the way to Fanelia, or where she was for that matter, add to that the fact that Duo is still missing. "Where are you Duo- "

Rustle…rustle. There it was again, rustle…rustle rustle. Hitomi froze on the spot. Something, or someone, was stalking her from the shadows. God knows how long for. Rustle…rustle rustle rustle. It came towards her, and everything became a blur, as if she were on a roller coaster ride. All she saw was a great, big, dark creature that lunged toward her, it's long neck was attached to a gigantically large, round belly, and on the very end of it, a triangular head with sharp teeth lined its mouth, the thin forked-shaped tongue tasting the air; then a 'shockwave' of invisible energy hit its belly, the most vulnerable part of any creature, hitting it with great force, the impact knocking the thing directly off balance. Then a spear dived straight into its belly as well. A sword soon followed, diving straight into the creature's head - killing it upon impact. It took a few seconds for Hitomi's eyes to process all the information that she were seeing, and to send it to her brain and to make it believe what it saw was a reality. She had a vision, and all she saw was two green flashes of colour, then it disappeared again. A woman with a serious gaze stepped into her line of vision, snapping Hitomi out of her trance; she wore familiar clothes like people do on Earth. A boy also came into view, and this time her brain kicked into gear, enabling her to recognize him at once;

"Duo! Where have you been??!!" She was so grief stricken, it made it hard to stand up, and she had to lean on the stranger for support without realising it.

"I'm ok, thanks to her." He gestured towards the woman she was leaning on.

"Oh....I'm sorry." She said, now feeling abit embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. " She said smoothly, going away to pull the sword out of the creature's head, which turned out to be a dragon. It's eyes were still open, and the woman stared at it for several minutes, making sure it was truly dead before she went near it, then looking up at the sky above; but as she did so, Hitomi saw both it's tail and head, LURCH towards her, trying one last attempt to kill her. Clinging onto Duo for support, she shouted as loud as she could;

"WATCH OUT ABOVE!!!!"

Just in time she did, and quickly ran to retrieve her sword which was only a few yards away to her right…. but the dragon kept darting it's tail, the only weapon it has left, using any remaining strength to kill this annoying little human parasite which should have been it's dinner. What they saw before them was madness; it seemed like a play, the woman was jumping around to avoid the dangerous spear-like scale on the tip of the dragon's scale, all the while trying to keep an eye on where the sword was and trying to get near enough to get it. Suddenly she ran up to the dragon, when it raised its tail to strike again…and she kicked it! She actually spun-around on one leg, and did a powerful kick on it's belly. The thing screeched so loudly and high pitched, it made their ears ring and feel dizzy. The woman seized the chance to get her sword back, and with a big heave, managed to do so. One last screech was made, and the dragon's tail flopped onto the ground like a fish. She had barely began to walk away, when the dead carcass emitted smoke, and promptly turned grey coloured; seeing what was happening, she ran back to them as fast as she could with the sword in the sheath on her hip. When she reached them, they both hugged her to show their relief, and watched as the dragon's body - disintegrated into dust with a poof!

She swept a bit of hair from her face with a shaky hand, but was smiling, because she beat it. And all by herself.

Are you…hurt….or…any-thing?" Out of breath, she asked how Hitomi felt; her eyes were so sincere and trusting, and especially her serene nature, made Hitomi feel calm again, especially after what she'd just witnessed. Her presence alone made her feel totally relaxed and at ease.

"No, I'm alright I guess, just a little shook up that's all."

"Good…come rest….in my place, it's not far from here." Apart from looking abit ruffled, Hitomi and Duo were thankful she was okay. Especially as she had done it to save them.

"Yeah." Flash. Two people were fighting, but it was too dark to see who it was. Only the occasional beam of sunlight showed what was going on, but even so, shadows obscured the fighter's identities. She gasped, and hoped that this vision didn't come true like they always do.

The birds were silent when all the fighting was going on, and now that it's over, they began singing again; the air was filled with their pleasant voices, and the trees in the forest, to either side of them, seemed to vanish into itself, and in the sky, very high up, were some mountains bearing down on them like adults would to a small child. The ground was dry and firm, but was muddy and damp in some places, indicating it was raining a few hours before. A little monkey climbed down from the treetops, and landed on Hitomi's shoulder. A few others also jumped onto Duo and the woman's shoulders, speaking to them in chipping sounds. It was very funny. Then they left when they couldn't find any food on the humans. At last, they reached a small clearing in the forest. The place is in a very secluded area and was camouflaged very ingeniously; so ingeniously, in fact, that if you didn't pay great attention to detail, you'd have missed it completely. It was a small hut like wooden structure, nice, but cosy. Kinda like a small cottage actually. They thankfully drank fresh clean water from a river that ran a few metres in front of the cottage. Afterwards, the three sat on the grass, which was surprisingly dry and not damp. Their saviour turned to them, and said;

"So, what brought you here? And why were you alone?" It was quite formal, but still very polite for somebody who lived in a forest. Hitomi also noticed that, contrary to belief that forest dwellers were filthy and extremely rude, this girl looked very clean, and had manners that were fit for royalty. She's probably the same age as me, or just a few years older at most. She closed her eyes, she placed her arms behind her to support herself; and took a deep, relaxed breath, smelling the flower scented air around them, a smile spreading on her young-looking face, basking like a cat all curled up in the summer sun. Hitomi did the same, and Duo flopped onto the grass, creating a headrest with his arms. All was quiet and peaceful, and they were able to rest after the major adrenalin rush. He looked at Hitomi; Hitomi looked at the woman; and a curious frown was on everyone's faces, and before they knew what was happening, they started to laugh uncontrollably at each other for no reason. Rustle…. The woman stopped suddenly, and sharply focused at the trees somewhere behind them; rustle… rustle… rustle… rustle…rustle… cautiously and quietly, she got up, and so did the other two. She gestured for them to be quiet too, and for them to stay behind her.

"Stay very still." The woman hissed. A rustling sound of feet could be heard outside in the distance. They did as they were told, after all, she knows more about this place than they did. She stealthily crept into the wooded area, scanning the place for danger. Just as she was about to give the all clear, a bloodcurdling* scream ripped through the forest, shattering the silence into nothingness.

Everyone rushed to where that ear piercing scream in an instant to see who done it, totally ignoring the woman's advice. From the last time she was on Gaea, Hitomi recognised who it was at once - Celena. For some strange reason, she was crouching on the floor, and was shaking/shuddering violently. The woman* who had saved Hitomi had edged towards the girl on the ground, who huddled together in intense pain, and then Celena stopped, and became still. Then she gasped in horror; the girl who was in pain had now stood up, and faced them, their eyes bulging with fear, their face dripping with sweat from a hidden pain that had passed…. The person standing in front of them, wasn't the girl in agony;

It was....